Eternal Danger
by zoey04
Summary: The pilots have been split up in order to tackle OZ faster. But what happens when they are discovered by OZ? Will Duo and his fellow pilots survive?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Shipped Off

Ugh. Moved again? Well at least I was going to my home country of America. But I'd be leaving behind my new friends and fellow Gundam pilots. Heero was staying here in Japan, Trowa was going to Germany, Quatre to some country in Africa, and Wufei was going to China. I peeked at my hand, at the four sets of numbers scrawled in black ink with initials printed next to them. I gave a hug to Quatre and Trowa and got a tentative hug from Wufei, then turned to Heero. I gave him a hug, but he didn't return it. I grinned. Still as unemotional as ever.

"Flight 2323 to San Francisco. Flight 2323 to San Francisco. First class is boarding now. First class is boarding now," the ancient intercom echoed first in Japanese, then repeated in English.

I sighed. "Bye guys. Long live the colonies," I smiled, turning towards the gate.

"Bye Duo! Keep in touch!" I heard Quatre call as I handed the old lady my boarding pass.

I hated planes. So crowded and stuffy and claustrophobic. My Gundam cockpit was tight, but it was home. I felt so free in my Gundam, but this? Well at least they gave me a first class ticket.

A middle aged man sat in the seat next to me and stared at me for a moment. Was it my priests uniform or my three foot long braid that made him stare? Probably both. As the plane rolled down the tarmac, I saw three of the pilots at the window. Quatre was waving, Trowa was just watching, and Wufei was leaning his back on the glass. Heero was nowhere to be seen. I waved back, even though they probably couldn't see me. And just before I lost view of the window, I saw Heero walk up next to Quatre and salute. I smiled and saluted back before they disappeared from view. I glanced once more at the numbers on my hand.

"Unique group of friends you got there," the man next to me said in English. "Those were your friends, right?"

"Yes. They're…different," I said, but that didn't even begin to cover it.

He nodded and turned back into his book as the flight attendant instructed us on flight safety. I felt empty as I stared out the window. I missed my fellow pilots already. And my Gundam Deathscythe. They promised they'd send it over, but who knows how long that would take. I was glad that I would still be working missions, but without help from the team or competition from Heero, it wouldn't be the same.

…

This is the apartment they got me? I could get used to this, I thought as I sprawled back into the couch. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I sat up, pulling it out.

"Hello?" I asked. Nobody knew my number. Except for—

"Hi Duo. My plane just landed. Where are you?" Quatre's upbeat voice echoed in my ear.

"Hey Quatre. Missed me already? I'm at my new apartment. It's awesome!" I smiled, heading in the back rooms to check them out.

"I'm getting in a cab right now. So where did they send you?"

"California. A little cowboy town about an hour and a half east of San Fran. Do you know where that is? I love it here."

"Yeah, I've heard of San Francisco. I hear there are a lot of OZ bases around there," he whispered into the phone. "California is the place man. Wish I could help you out."

"Really? This is going to be awesome," I grinned. "Where did they send you?"

"Cape Town, South Africa. It's so pretty here. I've been told they're already working on sending our Gundams to us."

"Great! Have you heard from the others?"

"Wufei's plane was delayed and Heero's left right after Trowa's which left right before mine. Trowa said he'd call me when he got to his apartment in Berlin. I think Wufei is going to Xi'an. He said he'd call, but I think he's going to purposely forget."

I laughed. "Probably. Wait… You said that Heero was taking a plane? I thought he was staying in Japan."

"He is, but they moved him clear across the country to Nagasaki."

"Does he still have the same number?" I asked, looking down at the smearing numbers on my hand.

He laughed. "Yeah."

"Thanks."

"No prob. Ooh! We're at my apartment. This is nice. Gotta go. Talk to you soon."

"Bye," I said, hanging up.

I may never talk to Heero, Trowa, or Wufei again, but at least I knew Quatre would keep in touch.

I entered in all the pilot's phone numbers into my phone before they became illegible, then checked out the rest of my apartment. A master bed and bath, a spare bedroom, spare bath, and a kitchen apart from the front room. Then something caught my eye. Was it a small room next to the spare bedroom? I walked to the corner and rounded the corner. In front of me was just a closet. But hanging on the side wall, was a little remote control with a red button on it. I took it off the nail and looked it over, then tentatively pressed the button. The small side wall the remote had been hanging on shot straight down into the floor, revealing a staircase leading down into a carpeted room. I walked down the stairs and saw a light switch on the bottom. I flicked on the lights and a large room lit up before me. In one corner there was a bar, and in the other was a flat screen accompanied by a couch. This was a safe room. And it would definitely come in handy. They probably picked this apartment for a reason.

"Nice," I murmured out loud, smiling.

I turned off the lights and walked back up the stairs, pressing the button and concealing the room. I hung up the remote and walked back into the front room. My phone started buzzing the tone I picked for Quatre, Hero by Skillet, and I answered it.

"Ohmygod! There is a secret, hideout, bunker…_thing_! In my _apartment_!" Quatre squealed before I could even say 'hi'. "This…is…_awesome!_"

"Mine has one too. And it's called a safe room, by the way," I added with a grin.

"This is so cool! This isn't a coincidence. They know that we are going to be kicking OZ ass and getting into some serious trouble," Quatre said, and I could tell he was smiling.

"Absolutely." The thought of OZ bases going up in flames brought a smile to my face.

"Oh, and Trowa called. They changed his location. He's still in Germany, but they sent him down to a little town right near the Alps. Augsburg, I think he said. Right near Munich. And yes he still has the same number," he teased.

"Oh shut up. Did they say why?"

"The OZ base in Berlin got shut down three weeks ago. They moved it just north of Munich. Besides, from what he's heard there are way more bases down there than up near Berlin anyway."

"Interesting. Do you know where your base is?"

"We passed right by it on the way to my apartment. And I know that there are at least two more farther north of my location. How bout you?"

"Not yet. I know there is a major one in San Fran. But there should be a smaller one in the city just north of my location. I'll check that out as soon as I get Deathscythe and my supplies."

"Same here. As soon as Sandrock arrives, we're gonna kick OZ's ass."

I laughed. Quatre may seem all cute and innocent on the outside, but on the inside he is terrifying.

"Well, talk to you later. Have fun blowing OZ to hell and back."

"Ditto," I smiled, then the line went dead.

I looked at the clock. I did not feel like quarter to three. And it was only Monday... Again! I left Tokyo airport at 12:00ish pm Monday morning and landed in San Fran at 12:00 pm Sunday. I shook my head, picking up my suitcase and carrying it into the master bedroom. I hung up all my clothes neatly in the closet and changed into an old pair of sweats. It took forever to fall asleep and when my alarm rang at 6:00 in the morning, it scared the shit out of me.

School. Ugh! Do I have to? I sighed, rolling over and hitting the alarm clock a few times before successfully shutting it off. I sat up and stretched, then staggered over to the closet and pulled on my priests outfit. I put on some coffee, and while I waited for it to brew, I took out my braid, ran my fingers though my long wavy hair a few times, then rebraided it.

I downed my coffee, stuck my handgun in my belt, making sure it was covered by my shirt, then walked out the door. I stared at my empty parking space for a moment. Right, I had to walk everywhere. Didn't they say they were going to get me a car or something? Or at least a bicycle? Oh well. At lest it wasn't raining.

I walked down the street, following a kid about my age with a black backpack on. Apparently my apartment wasn't too far from the school, because we rounded a corner and there it was. This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

The school was small and very open. I liked it so far, but it was a school, I wouldn't like it for very long. I entered the main hall that was intersected by three other longer halls. At the intersections, they were labeled. I, J, K, L, and OFFICES. I turned down the offices hall and entered the main office.

"Can I help you?" the elderly receptionist asked, looking at me suspiciously. What was a young priest with a three foot braid doing at a high school, right?

"Uh…I'm new," I answered, walking up to the front desk.

"Name?" she asked, looking down at her computer.

"Duo," I answered. "Duo Maxwell."

"Duo…Duo…Oh, here you are. Here's your schedule. First bell is in 10 minutes. Oh, and here is your locker and combination. You can get P.E. clothes in the student store."

I looked at my schedule and groaned. P.E. first period. I found the student store across from the tower room and knocked on the window. A girl a year or two older than me opened it and asked what I wanted.

"I need P.E. clothes," I told her and she looked me up and down before grabbing a pair of bright red shorts and a dull grey T-shirt.

I handed her a wad of cash and headed off down the main hall. I noticed the lockers in the L wing and sought out mine. I spun the dial and the locker popped open. I looked around the deserted hall and noticed a security camera in the corner. I frowned, concealing my gun in my P.E. clothes and shoved it all into my locker.

A boy about my age entered the wing and I withdrew my P.E. clothes and slammed the locker shut before he could see the object inside. I only saw his back as he walked down the hall, but his baggy green tank, tight black shorts, and messy brown hair immediately grabbed my attention.

"Heero?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the no authors notes on the first chapter. I forgot to write them XD What I was going to say was that this is my first ever fanfiction, so advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks! I have the next chapter written out, I just need to type it, so I should have it up by tomorrow night. Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 2

Plans

It couldn't be Heero. Heero was in Japan.

The boy turned around and I sighed. It wasn't him. But damn! He looked so much like him.

"Sorry. I thought you were someone else," I apologized.

"That's alright. Are you new here? I don't remember seeing you around before," the boy asked, walking over to me.

"Yeah. My name is Duo Maxwell," I said.

"Cool name. I'm Jason. Jason Cain. If you want, I can show you around campus," he offered, holding out his hand.

I shook it tentatively. He definitely wasn't Heero. He was too kind and…social.

"So where are you from?" he asked as we headed down the main hall.

"Japan."

He raise an eyebrow. "Really? You don't look Japanese. And you have an American accent," he pointed out.

"I'm American. I just was living in Japan for about a year on business. Before that, I lived in the colonies."

"No way! And now your dad works here?"

"What?" Dad?

"You said business. I assumed that you meant your dad's business."

I smiled. I couldn't help but think of that saying, 'When you _ass_ume, you make an _ass_ out of _u_ and _me_'. "Yeah. That's what I meant."

We exited the main hall into the quad area and Jason stopped.

"Let me see your schedule," he said and I handed him the sheet of paper.

"The gym is over there," he said, pointing straight ahead of him towards a large building. "You'll have to go through the gym to get to the locker room."

I nodded.

"You have second period history with me. Hitch is amazing, but your third period bio teacher, Mr. Felix is the best. Felix is in H-2 which is over next to the main hall. A-1 with Mrs. Derringer fourth. Aw man, that sucks. I feel sorry for you.'

"What's wrong with her? Does she bite?" I teased.

"She probably would if it didn't cost her her job," he laughed.

"That bad?"

"Yeah, that bad."

"Great."

"After that is lunch. Meet me near the music rooms after fourth period and I'll show you where your last two classes are."

"Thanks," I said and we headed towards the gym.

"Who's Heero?" he asked suddenly.

"I guess you could say that his dad worked with my dad." I smiled at my own lame joke.

"So you two were friends?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

He nodded and the bell shrilled annoyingly.

"Hitch's room is all the way around the back of the E-F wing right next to the tennis courts. F-5. It's kinda hard to miss."

I nodded and he headed back into the main hall. I followed the group of boys through the main gym and into the locker room. I walked up to the office and the young bald man looked up at me. The name plate on his desk marked him as Mr. Neeson.

"You must be Duo? From Japan?" he asked, looking down at a piece of paper. "Uh…do you speak English?"

I laughed. "Yeah. I wasn't a native. I was born and raised here in America," I told him.

"Kay, good. Here is your locker number and combo and your roll call number is 23," he said, handing me a slip of paper.

I took the paper and headed to my locker. I got dressed into my P.E. clothes and joined the other Sophomores on the way to the gym.

First period passed uneventfully. Mr. Neeson took roll, then passed out some basketballs and told us to get busy. I joined a group looking for a fifth person and did pretty well.

When the 'ten minute' warning bell rang, he unlocked the locker room and I dressed back into my priests uniform, tossing my P.E. clothes into the locker and kicking it shut. The next bell rang and I headed to my other locker, inconspicuously slipping my gun into my belt and making sure my shirt was covering it.

I headed behind the E-F wing and found out what Jason had meant by 'it's hard to miss'. In the first window of his room was a huge sign reading 'Mr. Hitch' in bright blue and yellow marker. I opened the door and walked into the dark room.

"Are you the new kid?" Mr. Hitch asked as I approached his desk.

"Yeah. Duo Maxwell."

"Duo," he sounded out, then shrugged. "Our only free seat is that one in the back corner."

I nodded and sat in the back corner. I think the whole three hours of sleep I got last night was catching up to me. And it didn't help that the lights were off. Someone sat next to me and I looked over to see Jason.

"You found it?" he smiled.

"Like you said. It's hard to miss," I smirked.

The bell rang and Mr. Hitch started his lecture. Between the dark room and the three hours of sleep, it was nearly impossible to keep my eyes open. I was about to fall asleep when the sudden flood of light made me jump. Mr. Hitch had turned the lights back on. The bell rang and I stood, leaving the room with Jason.

The rest of the day went by slowly, but uneventfully. Ten minute brunch before third period, then bio with Felix, pre-cal with Mrs. Derringer- who was just as bad as Jason said she'd be- lunch, then fifth period English II with Jason and Miss Carter- who looked much too young to be a teacher- and French II with Mrs. Louis. That class was going to be an easy one considering I was already fluent in French.

I said bye to Jason as I walked home after school let out. When I reached my apartment, a brand new motorcycle was sitting in my parking spot.

"Awesome," I grinned, running my fingers over the shiny black paint as I walked by.

When I opened the door, there was a pair of keys and a note which must've been slipped through the mail slot. The keys had to belong to the motorcycle. I picked up the note and it had an address on it. Under the address was the number 3223 and under that, it was signed 'Dr. G'. I grabbed up the keys, shoved the note in my pocket, and mounted the bike.

The address was the address to an abandoned storage facility out in the middle of nowhere. All the locks had been removed, so I found the storage room number from the note and heaved it open. Inside, sitting against the back wall, was my Gundam Deathscythe. I smiled widely, then climbed into the cockpit, running my fingers over the controls. If it was 2:45 pm here, that meant it was…12:45 am in Cape Town… I'll call Quatre later.

I relaxed back into the seat, gripping the control stick in my fist. I longed to turn Deathscythe on, to go blow up an OZ base right now. But not during to day. I'd have to wait until nightfall. I climbed back out of the cockpit and closed the storage room. I needed to get a padlock for this. I didn't want my Gundam to be accidentally discovered.

I mounted my bike and rode out of the storage lot and onto the highway. I rode out to Modesto, seeking the OZ bases' location. It took almost an hour of coasting down the streets before I finally spotted it. I wrote the address on my hand, then headed back home. I was going to hit this base tonight, I decided. At midnight, I'll get supplies out of Deathscythe, then set OZ on fire. Of course, I'd need to get some sleep first, I thought as I yawned.

I reached my apartment and shut off my bike. As I headed into the apartment, my phone rang out Quatre's ring tone.

"Quatre?" I asked, looking at the clock. It was almost four, which meant it was almost two in the morning there.

"Hey Duo. Master O delivered Sandrock while I was checking out the OZ base! Did you get Deathscythe yet?" he asked and I could tell he was bouncing up and down.

"Yeah. Dr. G delivered Deathscythe while I was at school."

"Awesome! I thought it was going to take forever for them to send our Gundams! Now we get to blow OZ to hell sooner. I'm going out tomorrow night to surprise OZ."

"I'm going out in a few hours," I answered, smiling to myself.

"Oh yeah. It's only like…four something there, huh. Well it's like two here. In the morning," he said.

"Then why aren't you asleep?"

"Because I'm still on Japanese time. It's nine in the morning there. I tried falling asleep, but couldn't, so I went to go check out the OZ base."

"I see. I just got back from the OZ base in the next city. I'm not taking Deathscythe because he'll stick out too much. I'm just taking some supplies with me."

"Lucky! I wanna go make an OZ base go boom! I have school tomorrow, so I'm going to try and fall asleep. I'll have to go out tomorrow night."

"Well then I wont keep you up. Night Quatre."

"Night Duo."

I headed into the master bedroom and sprawled out on the bed. I set my phone to wake me at eleven, then fell asleep right then, still in my priests uniform and boots.

I had nice dreams, very pleasant. Images of flames and debris where the OZ base used to stand. New Divide by Linkin Park woke me from my dreams. I sat up, rubbed my eyes, then shut off my alarm. Time to go blow OZ to hell.

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**So? You likey? Cause I like writing it! And like I said before, I should have chapter three posted by tomorrow night, but no promises XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**So things are starting to speed up now! I'm so into this fic right now! I'm working on it every chance I get (meaning between vocab words in french class XD) Advice would be awesome, thanks XD. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3

Trouble

It was deathly quiet as I gathered supplies out of Deathscythe. I leaned into the cockpit, my braid flipping over my face, as I tried to find the right supplies. I blew at my braid, trying to get it out of my face with no success. I found matches and a bunch of C-4 bricks. It wouldn't do much against the mobile suits hard outer armor, but if I set them off inside the cockpits, it would do some serious damage. I smiled and found the fuses for the C-4 and shoved them in the backpack along with the bricks.

I slid out of the cockpit and onto the cold, hard cement. I hitched my backpack higher up on my shoulder and pulled my keys out of my pocket. I stuck my new padlock on the storage door and turned on my motorcycle.

I rode down the nearly empty streets a good twenty miles per hour over the speed limit. When I pulled onto the highway, I slowed to the speed limit so I wouldn't get pulled over by the police. When I reached the OZ base, I parked my bike near the mobile suit hanger and pulled on my hoodie. I was certain that they had cameras, but if they didn't…well better safe than sorry. The hanger door was left open a crack and I shoved the backpack through, then crawled under.

The hanger had about 20 Leos and 5 Aries. No problem. I counted my C-4 bricks. 15. If I give whole ones to the Aries, and cut the rest in half, I could make it work. But that meant I'd have to cut the fuses too, severely limiting my time. I'd have to set the fire first so that I can light the fuses and leave. I cut all the fuses to the same length so that they'd all go off at the same time. With all the fuses connected to the bricks, I set them up in the cockpits with the ends of the fuses hanging out so I could light them fast. I pulled out my matches, then realized I didn't bring fuel.

"Shit," I cursed, looking around. I was in a mobile suit hanger. There had to be gas somewhere.

I located three huge jugs and took one, splashed it on all the suits. The second I spread half of all over the floor and then poured the rest into the middle of the room where I placed the third tank. This could be used as a bomb too, which meant after I lit the fire, I'd need to light the fuses fast.

I took a deep breath, lit five matches at once, then threw them onto the gasoline coated floor. I lit another as I ran to light the first fuse. I ran along the rows, lighting fuse after fuse. The flames ate up the gas and fuses too fast. I got to the last suit and my match went out. I pulled out another and struck it, then struck it again.

"Come on, come on! Light!" I murmured.

I threw it to the ground and grabbed another. It lit right away and I ignited the fuse. I grabbed the backpack and drove under the door just as the fire reached the gas tank. The tank erupted, setting off the C-4 early. I took off towards my bike as the entire hanger exploded. The shockwave hit me hard, knocking me off my feet and sprawling across the hard asphalt. I rolled over quickly, jumping up and mounting my bike. My head throbbed as I stood and looked back towards the base. The hanger explosion had set fire to the entire base. I smiled, starting my bike and getting the hell out of there before I got caught.

I was almost back to the apartment when my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Quatre.

"Yeah?"

"Are you home?"

"Not yet. I just blew OZ to hell," I shouted over the wind, grinning to myself.

"Really?! How did it go?" he asked enthusiastically.

"For me or for OZ?" I teased. "Cause it didn't go very well at all for OZ."

"Oh shut up. So it went okay?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"For the most part?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well my last fuse wouldn't light and I just barely got out of there in time."

"So you went straight for the big guns. You alright?"

"Yeah. I've got a terrible headache, but other than that I'm okay."

"Good. And the base was completely destroyed?"

"Fifteen bricks of C-4 and three tanks of gas. You tell me," I smiled, pulling into my space.

Quatre laughed. "Nice."

"Kay, I'm home," I told him.

"Turn on the news. It should be airing in America. They're making us watch it here at school."

"You're at school?" I asked.

"Of course man. It's almost 11:00 am here," he answered. "You got the news up yet?"

"How are you talking to me if you're at school?" I asked, sitting on the couch and flipping on the T.V.

"I'm 'going to the bathroom'," he teased.

"I've got the news up," I told him.

On the screen was a video of an OZ base on fire. Well, what was left of an OZ base. The caption under the video read, 'Explosion at OZ headquarters in Munich, Germany'.

"Go Trowa!" I applauded.

"I know right?! Yours will probably be up in a few hours. I hope I get to see videos of that," he whispered.

"We'll see," I said, looking closer at the screen. Something didn't look right. "Do you know exactly what happened at the Munich base?" I asked him.

"Uh… there was one explosion and it blew the main headquarters to smithereens, catching the whole base on fire. Why?"

"Trowa is the kinda guy who doesn't go halfway. He's a 'go big or go home' kinda guy. He'd never just set one explosion and leave it. He'd load them up. I think he might've been caught or something and had to get out before setting of all his explosives."

"You're right. It does seem underdone for Trowa," he whispered.

"I'll call you back in a minute. I'm going to try and call him," I said.

"Alright."

I hung up, then speed-dialed Trowa. It went straight to voicemail. I called him again and again got his voicemail. I called Quatre back.

"I couldn't get to him. It went straight to voicemail. I need to crash. His time zone is close to yours right? Can you call him later?"

"Definitely. Night. Wow, that's so weird saying 'night' at eleven in the morning. Talk to you later, Duo."

"Bye," I said, hanging up and shutting off the T.V.

I walked into the bedroom and kicked off my boots. I didn't even bother to changed into my sweats before sprawling out and falling asleep.

When my alarm woke me at six in the morning, I felt like I had a hangover. My head seared, my breathing was too loud, and when I switched on the lights, they were much too bright. I went through my new routine an darrived at school a few minutes becore the bell. I ran into Heero look-a-like at my locker and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"You look like shit. Are you okay?" he asked, closing his locker.

I was glad that today I had a backpack to conceal my gun because there was no way I'd be able to sneak it into my locker with Jason hovering.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just…up late last night," I told him.

"Getting drunk? Cause it looks like your completely hung over," he teased.

"You're talking too loud," I murmured, walking back down the main hall.

"You _are_ hung over!" he laughed, making me cringe.

"No. I just have a migraine."

"Oh, sorry," he smiled, lowering his voice to just over a whisper.

"Thanks."

The bell rang and I cringed.

"See you next period," Jason said, heading off to his calss.

P.E. was easy again. Thank God. After dressing back into my priest uniform, I headed to my locker to get my history textbook. I just got my locker open when someone entered the hall. I looked up to see Trowa walking towards me.

I stared for a moment, but Trowa inconspicuously shook his head and I turned away. He walked right behind me and whispered, "Meet me in the tower room at lunch."

I nodded inconspicuously, pulling out my textbook and walking in the opposite direction.

Why was Trowa here?! And it definitely was Trowa. Not another look-a-like. What was he doing here? He's supposed to be in Germany! And what was he doing leaving the country immediately after blowing up the OZ headquarters? That's not suspicious at all, I thought sarcastically. Something must've gone wrong in Munich.

I entered my history class and tried to act normal. I hoped this day would go fast so I could find out what was going on. But of course the day dragged. When the bell finally rang after fourth period, I jumped out of my seat and headed towards the tower room. I got to the tower room and stood outside the opening, waiting for Trowa.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my braid and pulled me through the opening. I spun around and was face to face with Trowa. I followed him up the stairs, rubbing the back of my head. Trowa looked around for security cameras, but there were none.

"Don't…touch…my braid," I warned, scowling at him.

He suddenly reached around me and pulled my braid again.

"Ow! Stop!" I demanded, bringing my braid in front of me and holding it so he wouldn't pull it again.

"All joking aside, we're in some deep shit right now. OZ found us," he frowned.

"And you led them here?!"

"All of us," he clarified.

"Where are the others? Have they been captured?"

"No, they should all be fine. I have no idea about Wufei, but Heero was the one who informed me about out discovery and I talked to Quatre right before I found you."

"So what are we going to do?" I asked, leaning back against the wall.

"There isn't much we can do. I guess we'll continue to do as much damage as possible. I can guarantee that they wouldn't want us to stop our missions. I can't go back to Germany because I was stupid and got caught on camera. I called Master S and he told me to come here. So is it alright if I crash with you for a little while?"

"Of course. As long as you don't touch my braid," I answered and he chuckled. "Is your Gundam here?"

"They said they'd send it. And don't talk to me here unless we're alone. I don't want anyone connecting us."

I nodded.

"Wait five minutes before leaving," he said, walking down the stares and out into the hall.

I sighed, slidding down the wall and onto my butt. I played with the end of my braid as I mused over the situation. How had OZ found us? And so fast? Usually, they were so much slower than that. Was it something Trowa had done? Or was OZ just quick to figure out our plans?

I pulled out my cell and called Quatre. It was about ten pm there, so he shouldn't be on a mission, but he could be asleep.

"Hello?" he answered in a groggy voice.

"Sorry if I just woke you, but do you know what the hell is going on? Trowa didn't go into details."

"You talked to Trowa?" he asked.

"He's at my school!" I whispered.

"Really? Well I don't know what happened exactly. He called me about an hour ago saying that we had been discovered and to expect a call from Master O, then hung up."

"So we're in trouble and e don't even know why," I sighed, leaning my head back against the wall.

"Nope. I'm debating on whether to blow up OZ tonight or not."

"Do it. We have nothing to lose anymore."

"Kay, then I'd better go."

"Good luck. I'll call you if I find out anything else."

"Same here. Bye."

I shoved my phone in my pocket and left. Something was going on and I was going to find out.

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**What do you think? Any guesses at what's going to happen? I'm going to be gone all day tomorrow at my cousin's house, but I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible. Promise XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**So change in plans. I'm not going to my cousins house after all. Oh well, more time to write! XD Enjoy.**

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Chapter 4

Company

"Duo. Duo!" I heard Jason calling me as I walked down the main hall.

I turned.

"Check this out!" he shouted, running up to me and shoving his iPhone in my face. It was a news report.

"Last night around midnight, the OZ headquarters in Modesto was infiltrated and set up with at least twelve blocks of C-4. All the mobile suits have been lost and casualties number at least fifty so far. The infiltrator is still at large," the man said as video showed behind him.

"Oh wow, this is crazy! How did you find this?" I asked, trying to ask surprised.

"My dad sent it to me. He works for OZ."

"Oh… Really?" This could be bad.

"Yeah. But he is just a janitor. He's moving to the base in Ceres."

"Oh, okay," I sighed, trying to hide my relief.

"This is insane! Who could've done this?"

"I have no idea."

The bell rang and I turned into the J wing for my English class.

"Bye," I called over my shoulder.

He waved and I entered room J-3. On the Smartboard, was the broadcast Jason had just showed me. I breathed deeply. I knew nothing about what had happened at the base. At least that's how I needed to act.

"My friend showed me this at lunch. Do they know who did it?" I asked Miss Carter.

"They have no idea. Well, if they do then they aren't sharing," she said, biting her lip and staring intently at the screen.

Then the students started to enter the room. They all watched the board in silence. Jason sat down in his seat and looked at me. I pretended to be really into the news bulletin. Just before the bell, Trowa walked in. He walked up to the desk and Miss Carter sighed.

"Another new student? Where are you from?"

"Germany," Trowa answered, putting on a thick German accent.

"Really? Is there a foreign exchange program going on that I don't know about or something?"

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Duo, your new essay partner, just moved here the other day from Japan. Duo, raise your hand," she asked and I obliged.

"Really?" he asked, turning to look at me.

"Yup."

Trowa nodded and came to sit next to me.

"Trowa," he introduced, holding out his hand.

"Duo," I responded, shaking it.

"Today we're going to watch the news. But that doesn't mean you get off on your homework. Your research proposal is still due tomorrow," Miss Carter said, leaning back in her chair.

She switched off the lights and we watched the video of the base. It was still on fire. Nice. I had to admit that I felt a little twinge of guilt. I wasn't _that_ cold hearted. I wasn't Heero. But I was helping the colonies. I had to remind myself that every time I lit a fuse. I shook it off, turning my attention back to the Smartboard.

Jason snuck across the aisle and sat in the empty seat next to Trowa.

"Another new kid? Where are you from?"

"Germany," Trowa answered.

"Awesome. I'm part German. So why did you come here?" Jason asked him.

"No reason. Just wanted change and I heard that America was the place to go."

Jason nodded.

"Jason, get back in your seat. I didn't say you could move," Miss Carter chastised.

Jason stood and moved back to his seat. Trowa nudged me, then gestured with his head to the screen. I nodded, knowing what he meant. He was asking if I did that. He smiled slightly.

The rest of the day went by slowly. We watched the news in French class too. After school, I found Trowa at the lockers and inconspicuously slipped him a piece of paper with my address on it, then shut my locker and left.

At my apartment, I turned on the news as background noise in case they said something important. Not too long after came a knock on my door. I peeked out the peephole to make sure it was Trowa, then hurriedly opened the door and pulled him in.

"This is your apartment?" he asked, dropping the accent and looking around. "The apartment they gave me was crap. It was probably the only one they could find with a safe room."

"So are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?" I asked. "Why aren't you in Germany?"

"Because I got caught blowing up OZ, that's why. And about the getting discovered part? I have no idea. Heero called me before I went to OZ to tell me that we had been discovered. He didn't say anything other than that. After I got caught, I needed to leave the country so I decided America was far enough away and I came here."

"Well I'm going to call Heero and ask _him_ then," I said pulling out my phone.

"You can try, but I won't guarantee he'll answer. I kept getting voicemail," Trowa warned.

I called him anyway and on the third ring, he picked up.

"What do you want?" he asked in his normal monotone voice.

"What's going on? How did we get discovered?" I asked.

"I'll explain later," Heero responded flatly.

"No wait! Don't—" then the line went dead. "Gah! I just want to know what's going on!"

"Me too!" Trowa agreed, crossing his arms over his chest.

I sighed and Trowa sat back into the couch, watching the news.

"Don't you have any stuff?" I asked, looking for a suitcase.

"Nope. This is all I have and all I need," he said, pulling out his gun and waving it in the air.

I laughed. "Whatever. Your room is right there and the safe room is right next to it," I told him, pointing in the general direction of the spare.

He nodded and I plopped down on the couch next to him. They were still talking about the Modesto facility when the anchorman stopped. His eyes widened slightly, then he started to talk again.

"This just in, at about quarter to midnight Japanese time, a primary OZ headquarters located in Japan was attacked. The entire base has been lost and OZ casualties are high. More news on this later."

"Whoo! Go Heero!" I laughed.

"Nice," Trowa applauded.

Suddenly there was a knock in the door. I muted the T.V. and froze, listening. The knock came again, this time only louder, more impatient. I grabbed Trowa's gun from in his belt and pushed him towards the safe room. I quietly snuck up to the door and peeked through the peephole. Standing on my doorstep, with his arms crossed over his chest, was Wufei.

I let out the breath I'd been holding and opened the door.

"It's just Wufei, Trowa!" I called and Trowa came out with his eyebrow raised.

"What the hell are you doing here?" both Trowa and I asked at the same time.

"Heero told me we had been discovered, then Dr. H told me to go to America and gave me your address," he answered.

"Well you're gonna have to sleep on the couch then cause Trowa already has the guest room," I told him.

"Whatever. Why aren't you in Germany?" he asked Trowa.

"I needed to leave the country. Had I known you were coming here, I would have gone to Cape Town and stayed with Quatre," he answered. "Uh, Duo? Can I have my gun back?"

"Oh yeah, right," I apologized, handing him his gun.

He clicked on the safety and slipped it into his belt. "So, Wufei… What have you been up to?" he asked.

"I wasn't able to destroy the Xi'an headquarters before they made me leave," he answered. "That's what you wanted to know, right?"

"Yeah. I got into the Munich base, but I was unable do more than set off a single stick of C-4 in the main control room."

"Why not?" Wufei asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because they found me," Trowa responded as if it were obvious.

"You should of kept fighting."

"But I escaped and now I'm free to attack again. What use would I be now if I was locked up in some OZ prison cell?"

"You should've taken the chance."

"Well, sorry I'm not suicidal like you," Trowa apologized sarcastically.

"Who wants to go blow up and OZ base with me? I hear there is one over in Ceres," I said, trying to bring down the tension. I wasn't planning on blowing the base for a while because I had just blown the Modesto one, but both Wufei and Trowa need to relieve a little stress.

"I want to. I need to go blow something up," Trowa decided, muttering the last part under his breath.

"I'm in," Wufei agreed.

"Alright, then. Go sleep. We'll leave at eleven. I guess you can sleep in my room, Wufei," I told him.

They both nodded and Wufei headed to my room and Trowa to the spare. I plopped down onto the couch, watching the muted T.V. This was going to be weird having these two here. They were never very fond of each other.

Watching the flames still smoldering at the Modesto base, I realized that I had used a lot of my explosives at that base. Actually, I had used up almost all of them. I picked up my keys and left a note for Trowa telling him that I was going to get supplies, just in case he woke up before I got back.

In my parking space were two other motorcycles. I frowned, then realized that they must've belonged to Trowa and Wufei. Good. I don't think we would've been all that comfortable on the back of my bike all the way to Ceres.

I rode my bike down to the storage facility and unlocked Deathscythe's locker. What I found just inside the door made me freeze. Stacked neatly at Deathscythe's feet, was a pile of C-4 bricks and some more heavy duty explosives. I let out the breath I had been holding when I realized that they weren't active. On top of the pile was a new pack of matches and tucked under the corner of one of the bricks was a note.

'Good job with the Modesto plant. Good luck with your next mission. Dr. G.'

I smiled, then walked over to my Gundam and pulled out my last remaining bricks from the cockpit, stacking them with the new ammo.

I locked up the locker and mounted my bike. When I opened the door to my apartment, I found two pieces of paper lying on the floor. One was addressed to Trowa and the other to Wufei. On the other sides were four digit numbers and were signed by their doctors. It was the locker numbers for their Gundams. Their lockers were on either side of mine. 3222 and 3224.

This was good. More supplies for tonight. I put the papers on the counter and laid back into the couch. I set my alarm for quarter to eleven and fell asleep.

I woke up at ten til ten and rolled over, forgetting I was on a couch. I rolled off the couch and landed with a thud on my back. I couldn't help but laugh, sitting up and rubbing my head.

I put on some coffee and searched through the cupboards for something to eat. I didn't want to blow up OZ on an empty stomach. I pulled out about the only thing in my cupboard. Top Ramen. I made three servings, then headed towards the back rooms.

"Wakey wakey! Time to go blow the shit out of OZ!" I called in their general direction.

Trowa was up right away, followed closely by Wufei.

"Eat, then we'll go," I told them. "Oh, and something came for you guys."

I handed them their papers and they looked at me curiously.

"I don't get it," Trowa said, straring at the paper.

"You'll see in a little bit," I promised.

We ate, grabbed our backpacks and weapons, then left. They followed me down to the storage facility and towards my locker.

"Locker numbers?" Wufei asked.

I nodded, opening my locker to reveal my Gundam. Trowa then figured it out. He ran to his locker and threw it open, revealing his Gundam, Heavyarms. Wufei opened his too and walked into the small room.

"We're not taking the Gundams. We need to _sneak_ onto the base. Gundams aren't very good sneakers," I teased.

"I know," Trowa called from in his locker. "How much C-4 do you have?"

"Too much," I called back, loading up my backpack.

"I have a lot too," he responded.

"Of course you do," Wufei answered. "The Munich base is still standing, am I right?"

"Oh, shut up!" I yelled at him. "Yes Trowa didn't succeed and yes you are suicidal. Can we just drop it and focus on this misson?"

It was silent as we loaded our backpacks.

"Duo, do you have any matches? I can't find mine," Trowa called.

"I have an extra pack," Wufei answered.

"See? Teamwork!" I smiled. "Does anyone have any fuel?" I asked, leaning into the cockpit.

"I don't," Trowa responded.

"Me neither," Wufei called.

"Well we are going to a hanger after all. There should be fuel there," I answered.

"I'm ready," Trowa called, closing the door to Heavyarms' locker.

"Same here," Wufei responded, closing Shinlong's locker.

"Here," I said, tossing them both padlocks and keys. "Let's go show OZ who's _really_ in charge."

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**So... little tension going on between Trowa and Wufei huh? XD We'll see how that goes. So now I'm all caught up with my notebook, so I probably won't be posting as quick as I have been. Depending on how fast I can get the next chapter written, then typed, I might have it up by tomorrow, but no promises.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! Two chapters in one day! I'm proud of myself XD I have about three drafts of this chapter. I just couldn't get it right... Well, here is how it turned out. Enjoy.**

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Chapter 5

Betrayed

The only sounds in the darkness were the sound of our footsteps as we ran towards the base, our hoods up and our heads down. We found a blind spot in the cameras next to the hanger and I turned to the others.

"We need a plan. This is a huge base," I told them, my voice just barely above a whisper.

"I think we should split up," Wufei suggested.

"Definitely. What parts should we hit?" I asked.

"The control room, the hanger, and…" Trowa thought out loud.

"And the main tower room," Wufei finished.

"Good. I'll take the control room, Trowa takes the hanger, and Wufei, you take the main tower room. That sound good?" I asked.

"Sounds good to me," Trowa agreed.

"Fine," Wufei responded.

I handed out ear pieces, then put mine in my ear. We cut our fuses to the same lengths and set up the bricks.

"We need to light the fuses at the same time so that it all blows at the same time. When we all get set up, I'll give the signal and we'll light this place up. Got it?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Wufei answered.

"Let's do this!" Trowa agreed.

We ran into the hanger, Trowa staying behind as Wufei and I ran to the stairs. We ran quietly up the stares and into the base. I turned off towards the control room and Wufei headed off towards the tower room. When I reached the control room, I took a deep breath, drew my gun, and raise up my foot to bust in the door. The room was empty so I holstered my gun and jogged over to the control table, keeping my head down. I pulled my backpack in front of me and pulled out three sticks of C-4. I strapped them under the control table and planted more in all corners of the room.

"I'm good to go," I whispered.

"Almost done," Wufei's voice crackled in my ear.

"I'm good down here," Trowa responded.

"Done!" Wufei answered moments later.

"Kay boys, light 'em up!" I commanded, striking a match and lighting all my fuses.

I bolted out of the room, swinging my backpack onto my shoulder on the way out the door. I ran into Wufei coming onto the stares and we ran down and through the hanger. Trowa was waiting for us at the bikes and we mounted, taking off into the night. Just as we hit the highway, the base exploded. I smiled.

We got to the apartment and shared high fives.

"See guys? With teamwork, we don't get caught on camera or in the explosion," I teased, opening the door.

"Who got caught in the explosion?" Trowa asked.

"No one," I said quickly.

"You blew yourself up?" Wufei asked and Trowa started laughing.

"Shut up! At least I didn't get caught on tape!" I teased.

"Touché," Trowa smiled.

"I'm gonna crash. You two can do whatever you want, just don't be too loud. I have school in three hours," I said, heading towards the bedroom.

"I'm going to crash too. You're not the only one who has school tomorrow," Trowa pointed out.

"What about you? Did you register to the high school?" I asked Wufei.

"Nope. I didn't think I'd be here that long," he said, laying back into the couch.

"Fine then. Night."

"Night," Trowa and Wufei said at the same time.

I shut off all the lights and changed into my sweats. I made sure my alarm was set for three hours from now and fell asleep.

…

"Duo, pay attention!" Miss Carter chastised.

I bolted up. I must have dozed off. Trowa chuckled next to me and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Meet me at the tower room after school," he whispered.

I nodded and started taking notes. I could hardly keep my eyes open throughout the entire period. I almost dozed off again, but the bell rang, saving me from getting yelled at again.

French class was easier to stay awake in because the room was buzzing with activity. The foreign exchange students were here and not all of them were good with their English. I helped translate until the bell rang and I headed over to the tower room.

I pulled my braid in front of me so that Trowa wouldn't pull it again. But he grabbed my collar instead.

"Gosh dang it!" I swore, rubbing my neck.

"I haven't been able to contact either Quatre or Heero," he said.

"I wasn't aware that you were even trying to contact them."

"I called Heero last night, but he didn't answer, which wasn't all that surprising. But Quatre always answers. When I called him both after I called Heero and this morning, he didn't pick up."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?"

"You try calling Heero. He picked up last time you tried."

"But he hung up on me," I pointed out.

"But he answered."

"Fine," I agreed, pulling out my phone and speed-dialing him.

It went straight to voicemail. I shook my head, then called Quatre. Again, it went straight to voicemail. I shrugged, pocketing my phone.

I heard a familiar voice near the opening of the tower room. It was Jason's voice. I started to leave, to go talk to him, but Trowa grabbed my braid and pulled me back, covering my mouth.

"I'm trying, dad, but he's smart. He's not going to tell me directly." There was a pause. "I know it's him. Yeah, he was all jumpy when I showed him the video of the base. I know he blew it up and I know he's a Gundam pilot." He was talking on the phone to his dad. "I think that new kid from Germany he hangs with is also a Gundam pilot. When are you going to come and get them?"

How the hell did he know I was a Gundam pilot?! And why would his _janitor_ dad come and get us? There was something that he had not told me. Something wasn't right.

"Got to go dad. I'll try harder to get it out of him," Jason said, then I heard his footsteps start to fade away.

When they were gone, Trowa released me. I ran across the hall, picking the lock to the computer lab and rushing in, Trowa right behind me. He closed and locked the door as I started up a computer. I hacked into the OZ database and searched it for the Modesto base. It came up 'no longer in service' and I chuckled to myself. Then I searched for Ceres base to see if they had erased those files yet. They hadn't. I hacked into the employee registry and the very first name on the list marked 'chief of operations' was Kris Cain, Jason's father.

"Dammit! Stupid American!" I cursed.

Trowa raised an eyebrow at my comment. "What about the American?"

"His dad isn't a freakin' janitor! He's the head of the Ceres base! Jason must've known it was me that had blown the base. He hinted that there was a base in Ceres- his dad's base- knowing that I'd go destroy it. He was setting me up. But he probably wasn't expecting me to blow the base so soon," I yelled, pacing a circle around Trowa as I ranted. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. He looks like Heero for God's sake!"

Trowa laughed at my derogatory comment. "I say we need to lay low for a little while. Now that we know what's going on, we can control the situation. We'll talk about this later. I need to go see something. Wait five minutes before—"

"No! I'm leaving first! _You_ wait five minutes!" I said, bolting towards the door.

I walked home quickly, constantly looking over my shoulder. I reached the apartment and opened the door only to get a gun in my face.

"It's just me!" I exclaimed, dropping my bag and raising my hands in the air.

Wufei lowered the gun and stuck it in his belt. I dropped my hands and picked up my backpack, kicking the door shut with my foot.

"What the hell?"

"Sorry. Trowa called and told me what just happened with the little American kid and his dad. I was edgy. Sorry," he apologized.

"So he told you the whole story?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"God I hate American kids," I seethed, falling back into the couch.

"You're an American kid," he pointed out.

"It's a fact that almost shames me."

"Almost?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What can I say? I love being an American."

He shook his head, then picked up his keys.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To go see Nataku," he answered simply, making sure his storage locker key was on his key ring.

"Have fun," I muttered, turning on the news.

I must've fallen asleep because a knock on the door made me jump. I hopped up and opened the door without even looking to see who it was. Standing on my doorstep, a big smile on his face, was Quatre. I hesitated, rubbing my eyes.

"Am I still asleep?" I asked.

He laughed. "No."

"Then what the hell are you doing here?! Why is everyone coming here?!"

"I missed you too, Duo," he laughed, giving me a quick hug. "What do you mean by 'everyone'?"

"Both Trowa and Wufei are here already. And now you. All we need is Heero and we can have a Gundam sleepover," I joked.

"A really interesting sleepover," Quatre giggled. "So Wufei is here?" he asked, looking around.

"He went out, but yeah, he's here. So why are you here? Wait… let me guess. Your doctor called you and told you to come crash at my place?"

He nodded. "How did you know?"

"That seems to be the story. That's why everyone else is here."

"Not everyone," he pointed out.

"Yes, everyone," a familiar monotone voice responded from my doorstep.

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**So I'm sure that you all know who is on Duo's doorstep XD I'm not sure if I'll be able to post the next chapter tomorrow or not. I probably will end up getting it written though. I'm too into it to _not_ work on it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I was able to get it posted today. Just barely. I had writers block twice today while trying to write this chapter... Well, enjoy!**

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Chapter 6

Full House

"Gundam sleepover?" Quatre asked with a giggle.

"So… you gonna tell me what's going on now?" I asked, inviting Heero in.

"Maybe. But I was just on a plane for fourteen hours. I need to sleep," he said simply.

"Uh…okay? I guess you can use my room…" I told him, gesturing towards my room.

Without another word, he walked into my room and closed the door behind him. I turned to look at Quatre.

"Is it just me, or was that really weird?" I asked him.

"Very. So how have you been?" he asked, sitting down on the couch.

"Good, I guess. Trowa, Wufei, and I went out last night and blew an OZ base. It actually went really well. But today we found out that this little American kid's dad was head of the base and he knows who we are and crap like that."

"Huh. That's not good," he frowned.

"Tell me about it. So what about you?"

"I was able to blow my base in Cape Town before I had to leave. But I didn't get out of the base quick enough. I think I have a bald spot," he murmured, feeling the back of his head.

I laughed and the front door opened. I pulled out my gun, aiming it at the door. Trowa hesitated, raising his hands.

"Quatre? What are you doing here?" he asked as I lowered my gun.

"Hey Trowa! My doctor told me to come here," Quatre answered.

"Right."

"Dude. You'll never believe who's in my room right now," I stated.

"Who?"

"Heero."

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're joking right?"

"Told you you wouldn't believe me," I laughed.

"Interesting. So everyone is here. Where is Wufei?" he asked, sitting in the chair.

"He went to go see his Gundam," I told him.

"Of course. So when did you get here?" Trowa asked Quatre.

"Just a few minutes ago," he answered.

"And what about Heero?"

"Uh… about half a minute after me."

Trowa nodded and it was quiet for a while, the only sounds were the sounds of the anchorman talking about the Ceres base. I thought about the San Fran base, my real target. I had always been wondering in the back of my mind how I was going to take down that base, but now that all five of us are here, it should be easy. We could go out after Wing and Sandrock got here.

The front door opened, bringing me out of my thoughts. It was Wufei.

"The doctors left more explosives in Nataku's locker, which means there is probably more in Deathscythe's and Heavyarms' locker too," he told me, closing and locking the front door. "Oh, Quatre's here? When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. Heero is here too," Quatre answered.

"Heero? Really?"

"Yup. He's in my room," I responded.

"So I guess that's why there are five bikes out front," Wufei said, leaning back against the wall.

"So you and Heero are going to have to sleep in the safe room because Trowa has the spare and Wufei is on the couch, so…yeah, sorry about that," I apologized, turning to Quatre.

"Fine with me," he answered, weaving his fingers behind his head.

"Well I hardly got any sleep last night and I'm tired. I'm going to crash. You guys make yourself at home. Wait… Heero's in my room… Mind if I borrow the spare?" I asked Trowa, heading into the backroom.

"I don't care. It's your apartment," Trowa responded.

All my clothes were in my room, so I sprawled out on the bed still in my priests outfit and fell asleep. I woke up after only two hours and couldn't fall back asleep. I redid my braid, ran my fingers through my unruly bangs, then walked out into the front room. Trowa was on one end of the couch and Wufei was sitting on one of the chairs, both watching the television screen intently.

I sat down on the other end of the couch and saw what was so interesting. They were talking about Kris Cain. Apparently, they were sending him to the San Fran base and making him chief of operations there, booting the old guy down to assistant chief of operations. Obviously this guy was good, but I was better. I hoped that he was in the base when we blew it, cause he was becoming a real pain in the ass.

Heero joined us then, sitting in the other chair and watching the news in silence. At that moment, Quatre came in from in the safe room and plopped down between Trowa and me.

"Now that we're all here, can you tell us what's going on?" I asked Heero, muting the T.V.

"Somehow OZ learned four of our identities. Or so we heard," he answered, leaning back into the chair.

"Only four? Who don't they know?" Quatre asked.

"I have a pretty good guess," I said sarcastically. It was the reason everyone was at my place right?"

"I don't know who. I'm not even sure if they actually know our identities or if they are just trying to scare us. The reason we were 'discovered' was OZ got an anonymous tip on four of the Gundam pilots' identities. We think that someone wanted us gathered in one place so that they could pick us off. We picked America hoping that this isn't where they wanted us."

"You picked wrong," I muttered, it all starting to make sense.

"What?" he demanded.

"They wanted us here in America. And I think I know who wants us here."

"That kid," Trowa pieced together.

"What kid?" Heero asked, but it was more of a demand.

"This little kid's dad is chief of operations at the Ceres base, well, the San Fran base now. I'm pretty sure him and his dad are tag-teaming us. The son is spying on us and the dad is trying to grab us or kill us or whatever he wants to do with us. I don't think he actually knows four of our identities, but he definitely knows Trowa and me."

"Where did you meet this kid? School?" Heero asked.

"Where else? I should've known that someone who looks like you would turn out to be a little jerk," I teased.

Either he didn't catch my joke or just chose to ignore it because he didn't say anything.

"Should Duo and I go back to school tomorrow? Or should we all leave the country?" Trowa asked.

"No. We're not leaving. That would be too suspicious," Heero answered.

"And five sixteen-year-olds gathered from all across the world into this little two bedroom apartment isn't?" Wufei countered.

"Nobody is going to know that Quatre, you, or I are here," Heero said strictly. "Trowa and Duo are registered, so they need to go back, but the three of us need to remain hidden."

"So we have to hide out in Duo's little apartment all day for however long this takes?" Quatre clarified.

"Yes."

"It could be smaller," I pointed out optimistically.

"True."

"So what do we do now? Just lay low for a while? Trowa and I continue to go to school like nothing has happened?" I asked for clarification.

"Yes," Heero responded.

"We need to blow the San Fran base though eventually. That was my big mission. I just blew the Ceres and Modesto bases while I was trying to figure out how to get rid of the San Fran one," I told him.

"And we'll definitely do that, but not now."

"Wow. Heero taking the more responsible route? This is a first," I laughed, trying to lift the mood.

"Well somebody has to be the responsible one," he countered.

Quatre laughed and I stuck my tongue out at Heero.

"Further proving my point," said Heero, relaxing back into his chair and unmuting the T.V.

I glared at him for a moment, then a loud knock sounded on my door. We all froze. I pulled out my gun and eased to the door. I peeked out the peephole. It was Jason.

"Everybody get out of sight," I whispered. "It's Jason."

The four of them stood and hurried into the back room. I faintly heard the bedroom door close shut, then turned back to the front door. I breathed deep, slipped my gun into my belt, and opened the door.

"Jason? What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to sound surprised.

"Uh…you forgot your history notebook," he said, handing me my notebook and trying to inconspicuously scan my apartment.

I didn't forget my notebook. I didn't even take it out today. He must've stolen it so he could come by my apartment and check it out. "You couldn't have given it to me tomorrow at school?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "It's almost ten o'clock."

"Our homework is due tomorrow," he answered, still trying to peek into my apartment.

"It's due Monday," I corrected.

"Oh…right. Uh, why are there all those bikes out front? Do you have company?"

"No. The guy upstairs is part of a biker group though," I lied smoothly.

"Oh, well, see you tomorrow then," he said and walked off.

I closed the door and locked it, letting out a deep breath.

"He's gone guys!" I shouted, sitting back into the couch.

The door creaked opened and they all walked back into the front room.

"Who's Jason?" Quatre asked, sitting down in between Trowa and me on the couch.

"That little kid with the powerful father we were talking about earlier," I answered.

"Oh," he mouthed.

"What did he want?" Wufei asked.

"He needed to 'return my notebook'. He must've stolen it from me today cause I didn't have it out at all. He needed an excuse to come check out my apartment," I answered.

"Well I'm going to bed," Trowa said, standing and heading for the spare room.

"Yeah, me too. I have school tomorrow," I groaned. "There should be blankets and pillows in that closet right there if you want them. Sleep wherever you can find room," I told the other pilots, then headed into my room.

I pulled on my sweats, shut off the lights, and set my alarm. School was going to suck tomorrow.

* * *

**So? You like? It didn't turn out quite the way I was thinking it should, but I guess writers block does that to you XD I have school _and _piano lessons tomorrow so chances I'll have the next chapter up are kinda low. But I should have it up by Tuesday. Hopefully... Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay! I got it finished! Hehe. I was literally writing every chance I got. Including on the bus to and from school XD So here it is! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 7

Found

"Hey Duo!" the annoying little voice called.

I popped open my locker and took a deep breath. I'm not a Gundam pilot. Jason's dad is just a janitor. Jason is just a spunky and social version of Heero. Actually…strike that. That's not a good thing, I thought with a smile.

"Hi Jason," I said pulling out my history textbook.

"And…Trowa, right?" he thought, looking towards Trowa as he struggled with his locker.

"Verdammen Sie es!" Trowa cursed in German, pounding his fist on the locker. Way to play up the role, I thought with a smile.

"Move," I told him and spun the dial as he told me his combination. The locker popped open and he muttered something under his breath in German. I wasn't too good with my German, but I think he said something like 'stupid locker'.

"Thanks," Trowa mumbled, pulling out a textbook and slamming the locker shut.

"So you two know each other?" Jason prompted after Trowa disappeared around the corner.

"Just as essay partners," I responded simply.

"Oh, okay," he answered.

The bell rang and I couldn't help think of the saying 'saved by the bell', cause of we had continued talking I might've accidentally said something. I hurried off to the gym, leaving Jason alone at the lockers.

"See you next period," I called as I exited the hall.

"See ya," he called back.

…

"So how you holding up with Jason?" Trowa asked from our usual spot in the tower room.

"He's pressing. He's trying to get it out of me," I answered, leaning back against the wall. "If he doesn't shut up with the personal questions, I swear to God I'm gonna shoot him."

Trowa laughed. "That bad, huh?"

"Yes that bad! He's brought up the Ceres base three times. One of which he asked me if I knew who did it."

"And I thought _you_ were annoying," Trowa laughed.

"Ha ha."

"Anyway, you need to act normal. You don't know anything and his questions don't bother you. Got it?"

I nodded and the bell rang, ending lunch. Trowa left first, and a minute later I left. When I entered the English class, it was almost empty. Just Trowa and five other students. When Jason came in he walked up to us and sat in the empty seat in front of me.

"My dad is getting moved to the San Fran OZ base," he told us.

"Really?" I asked, trying to act surprised.

"Yeah, my dad likes working for OZ, so he's transferring there."

"That's a long commute," I said.

"Where is San Fran?" Trowa asked, sounding completely genuine.

"San Francisco…" I clarified, playing along. "It's about an hour and a half from here… near the bay…" I hinted.

"Is that California's capitol?" he asked.

"No. That's Sacramento," I sighed and shook my head, enjoying playing this game.

"Oh," Trowa mumbled.

"And he's a janitor there right?" I asked Jason.

"Uh, yeah. He enjoys working for OZ. He helps maintain the suits."

"Interesting. Days or nights?" I ask, trying to get him to slip up.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"Day janitor or night janitor?"

"Oh, uh…both?"

Got him. "I see. Does he come home at all?"

"Of course. After his shift," he answered, as if it was obvious.

I nodded, hiding the smile. I think he realized he had slipped up because he stood and went back to his seat without another word.

"A janitor that works round the clock, huh?" Trowa chuckled.

"He knows I just got him. He'll start leaving me alone now," I smiled.

"Nice," Trowa laughed.

And he didn't bother me for the rest of the day. I had to hang out after school for a little while as Trowa walked to my apartment. Jason passed right by me leaning on the wall out front and climbed into a huge SUV. The driver looked big and looked like Jason. It had to be his father. I memorized his face, then pulled my hat down so that the visor hid my face. I need to know his face, but he couldn't know mine.

When the SUV started to pull away, I pulled out a pen and wrote the plate number on my hand, though it wouldn't have been hard to remember. OZ01.

After the SUV was long out of sight, I headed home. I got to my apartment and noticed an ominous black sedan parked on the street. I shrugged it off, pulling out my keys. One of my neighbors probably had company. Before I could put my key in the doorknob, a hand grabbed my braid and another covered my mouth, dragging me around the corner and into the bushes. It was Heero.

"Why does everyone grab my braid?! I swear to God that I'm going to chop it off if someone pulls it again!" I lied. I could never cut my hair.

"Don't be such a baby. OZ is searching the apartment. You don't have anything in there that'll identify you as a Gundam pilot, right?" he whispered.

"I shouldn't. I have everything I own in my backpack," I whispered back.

"So you have your gun?"

I nodded.

"Good cause we couldn't find it."

"Why the hell is OZ in my apartment?"

"They obviously got your address and decided to come pay you a visit. They probably got your address from that kid."

"Damn. But I wanna know how _he_ got my address… Oh, did you grab the remote for the safe room?" I asked.

"Yeah. And we took the nail out of the wall so it wouldn't draw attention."

"Good. Where are the others?"

"In the safe room. OZ got here not too long after Trowa," he said. "I stayed out here and waited for you."

I leaned back against the rough wall, pushing the branches out of my face.

"Oh, and these came for Quatre and I," he said, pulling two pieces of paper out of his pocket. "Do you know what they mean?"

"They are storage locker numbers. That's where your Gundams are," I answered.

"Our huge metal suits are in a storage locker?!"

"It's abandoned and in the middle of nowhere. Nobody will notice them or noticed when they got delivered."

"That's not what I was wondering. I'm sure the doctors found the best spot but, how did they fit our huge mobile suits in a _storage_ locker?"

"They are big lockers," I smiled.

He nodded, leaning back against the wall next to me. It was two hours before the door opened and two men walked out. What the hell were they doing in my apartment for two hours?! I held my breath as I watched them through the leaves. They got in the car and then… just sat there and sat there and sat there…

"Don't tell me that they're going to sit here until I 'get back'," I complained, leaning my head back against the rough stucco.

"It could be worse. You could be stuck here with Wufei," Heero joked.

I stifled my laugh in my sleeve. One, that was kind of funny, and two…_Heero_ made the joke. That was almost a once and a life time thing, I mused.

When the men finally left after another half and hour, I stood and stretched. Two and a half hours of sitting, curled up in a bush, made me sore. I unlocked the front door and scanned the room. There was nobody here.

"I'll go get the others," Heero said, striding to the safe room. "I told them to wait until I came to get them."

Heero knocked loudly on the wall and I faintly heard it drop, then close again as Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei walked into the front room.

"What took you so long? Did you forget about us?" Trowa asked.

"_They_ took so long! At least you weren't crouched in a bush the whole time," I complained.

"Sucks for you," Quatre giggle.

I looked around the apartment, at the huge mess the OZ soldiers had made. I sighed, picking up the couch cushions and putting them back in the couch.

"They invade my privacy and they can't even bother to pick up after themselves," I grumbled to myself, straightening the coffee table.

"Of course they don't. They're OZ soldiers. What do you expect?" Trowa countered, helping me clean up.

I didn't have much stuff, so it wasn't that bad of a mess, but I shouldn't have to do this in the first place. We got everything straightened out in a few minutes and Heero turned to me.

"Did you notice whether anything was missing?"

"No. I don't have much to take," I responded.

He nodded, sitting in the chair and flipping on the news.

"Oh! I saw our guy today after school," I remembered.

"What guy?" Quatre asked.

"The new head of operations at the San Fran base picked up his son from school today."

"Did he see you? The boy would have pointed you out," Wufei said.

"My face was covered. He didn't see me, but I saw him."

"Awesome," Heero said, relaxing back into the chair.

…

As Heero, Wufei, and Quatre sat watching the news, Trowa and I were sprawled out on the floor doing our homework. We had just finished our English rough draft and had moved to Pre-Cal when Quatre came to join us.

"How's it going?" he asked, sitting in front of us.

I rolled over onto my back and groaned. "School sucks. You are _so_ lucky," I whined.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. Hiding out here in your little apartment with these two stiffs is probably worse than school," Quatre whispered.

"I heard that," Heero and Quatre said at the same time.

I cracked up and Quatre fell to his side, grabbing his stomach. I could even hear Wufei and Heero chuckled under our laughter. When we had calmed down a little, Trowa poked me in the side with his pencil.

"How do you start the first problem?" he asked.

I rolled back onto my stomach and peeked at the problem.

"Try changing the secant into one over cosine. No. It's the sine over cosine. Make it—"

I was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. We all froze.

"Duo Maxwell! This is the OZ police! We have a few questions we want to ask you! Come out now or we are going to break this door down!"

* * *

**So? Well the next chapter is the one I imagined when I thought up this fanfic. I can't wait to write it! XD Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! I love this chapter! XD Sorry I wasn't able to post it last night. I was completely brain dead after taking my high school exit exam XP That sucked. Well, here it is. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 8

Hiding Out

"Mr. Maxwell! Open the door!"

"Grab all your stuff and get into the safe room!" Heero whispered, pressing the button.

Trowa and I grabbed our backpacks and all our textbooks and homework while the others grabbed the few remaining things. Heero quickly made the room a mess again, just like it was after OZ tossed my apartment, and we bolted into the safe room. Just as the wall closed, we heard the door smash open.

Heero and Wufei sat in the couch while Trowa and I sprawled out with our math textbooks and notes. Quatre sat down in front of us.

"Wouldn't your teacher understand if you couldn't do your homework because you were caught up with the OZ police?" he asked.

"No," Trowa and I answered at the same time.

Quatre giggled and I turned back to my math.

"So what's going on?" Wufei asked no one in particular.

"OZ is trying to get us, that's what's going on," Heero responded in a frustrated tone.

"And we just hang out in here until they leave?" he asked.

"If they ever leave," Quatre muttered. "They'll most likely sit on your apartment until you 'get back'."

There were four simultaneous groans.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Trowa asked.

"There isn't much we can do. I would say that we can jump out and surprise them, but they most likely have an entire force up there. So I guess we just wait until we think they're gone," Heero answered.

Three hours later found me on my back with my legs propped up against the wall, tossing a tennis ball up into the air and catching it. Trowa, Wufei, and Heero were all on the couch, reading books from the bookshelf we discovered in the back corner. Quatre was on the floor next to me, mimicking my pose and watching me toss the tennis ball up in the air. I don't know where the tennis ball came from, but as I was laying sprawled out on the floor looking for something to do, I had spotted it under the couch. So here I was…tossing a ball up in the air…for three hours…

"What time is it?" I asked, tossing the ball up in the air.

"Five minutes later than the last time you asked," Heero answered, slightly annoyed.

I groaned. "Only five minutes?"

"You know, Duo?" Heero exhaled, lowering his book and turning to look at me. I tilted my head back so I could see his upside down face. "You are like that annoying little child in the back of the car who asks 'are we there yet' every five minutes."

Quatre stifled a laugh and I stuck my tongue out at both of them.

I continued to toss the ball up and catch it again. I looked around for a clock, but I couldn't find one. I tossed the ball up again.

"Hey Heero?"

"What."

"What time is it?"

He threw down his book and spun to glare at me.

"What?! You never told me! You've just said 'five minutes later' or ten minutes later' or 'three minutes later'. I lost track," I defended.

He threw something at me and turned back to his book. I caught it just before it hit my face. It was a watch.

"Thank you, Heero," I said, checking the watch. It was just after ten.

I tossed the ball up again, bouncing it off the wall and back into my hands. "This is so boring," I sighed, tossing the ball back against the wall.

"Then read a book," Trowa responded.

"I've read all those books already."

"Then read them again," Wufei told me.

"But that's boring too."

It was silent for a while. The only sound was the sound of the ball hitting the wall, then landing in my hands. I sighed deeply, then bounced the ball at an angle on the wall. It hit and bounced off towards Quatre. Hhe caught it, then bounced it back. I threw the ball straight up.

"Hey Duo," Trowa called and I eagerly turned my head.

"Ye—" I started, but was interrupted by the ball that had come down and hit me on the side of my head.

Trowa and Quatre laughed and I heard Heero chuckled under his breath.

"Ha ha. Very funny," I said sarcastically, rubbing my face.

When Trowa turned back around, I picked up the tennis ball and chucked it at the back of his head, which wasn't easy considering I was on my back with my legs up against a wall. It made contact and he spun around, glaring at me. I laughed and so did Quatre. Trowa threw it back and it bounced right next to my head. I reached out to catch it as it bounced off the wall and was about to throw it back when Heero interrupted me.

"If that hits me, I swear to God I'm going to beat you," he threatened me.

"He started it!" I defended, pointing at Trowa. I didn't like the thought of Heero beating me.

I tossed up the ball and caught it again. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted. I bounced the ball to Quatre and he bounced it back, but I missed it and it bounced away.

"I really want to go get it, but I really don't want to get up…" I sighed, watching the ball roll away.

Quatre giggled and I looked back up at the ceiling. It was starting to become very familiar. I started to play with the end of my braid for lack of anything better to do.

"How about instead of sitting on our asses doing nothing, we try and figure out what to do about OZ?" I suggested.

"Great idea, Duo. How bout you get off your ass and come join us?" Heero said in a mocking tone, not taking his eyes off his book.

I rolled over and stood, then wobbled slightly.

"I think…that all the blood has drained from my legs," I stated, wobbling over to the others.

"I think it's all drained from your head a long time ago," Trowa muttered under his breath and I smacked him on the back of the heads as I hobbled by.

I plopped down on the floor in front of them and Quatre sat down next to me.

"So what exactly is it that you want to discuss that we haven't discussed already?" Heero asked, not lowering his book.

"I think we should go attack the San Fran base. Now," I said, playing with the end of my braid.

That got their attention. In perfect sync, Wufei, Trowa, and Heero lowered their books and raised their eyebrows at me. I couldn't hold back the chuckle.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Wufei asked. "It's not exactly like we can stride out of here. Did you forget that OZ is hanging out in your apartment?"

"No, but if this apartment has a safe room, doesn't it make sense that it would have some sort of escape route?" I asked.

"And you couldn't have thought of this three hours ago?" Trowa asked.

"Well I wasn't thinking before."

"Obviously," Wufei muttered and Quatre giggled. I elbowed him in the side.

I stood and walked around the room. I knocked on the walls, looked behind the furniture, and felt for cracks or grooves in the walls. I knocked on the wooden wall of the bar and it sounded different. I crouched down and put my ear up to the wood, knocking again. It sounded hallow. I searched the entire bar for a button or leaver of some sort, but came up empty. I sat, staring at it for a moment, before I thought of something.

"Let me see that remote," I asked and Heero tossed it to me.

I looked it over, looking for another button. There was a battery slot and the red button, that was it. I pulled off the battery cover, but there were no batteries, just a tiny red button. Found it. I held it up for the other pilots to see.

"Push it," Quatre said, standing.

I hesitantly pressed the button. There was a hiss from behind me and I spun around just in time to see the wooden side of the bar fall back, revealing an open tunnel.

"That is so cool. Let's get out of here! I'm getting tired of this little room," Quatre said, sticking his head in the opening.

"Wait," I said, grabbing his collar. "It's not like we can just grab the bikes and leave. If OZ is in my apartment, they are probably parked out front too," I pointed out.

"Or, they could all be inside waiting for you. Cause if you were coming home and you saw them parked out front, would you go to your apartment, or would you just keep going?" Heero countered.

"I'd keep going," I answered.

"Exactly, and they know that."

"True, so do we take the chance or do we play it safe?" I asked.

"We're Gundam pilots. We don't play it safe," Wufei said.

"Who votes that we go for it?" Heero asked and five hands shot up in the air. "Then let's go."

We crawled into the tunnel one after another with me leading. It opened up almost immediately, allowing room to stand up straight. I pressed the little button again, closing off the tunnel. I pulled out my phone and opened it for some light, then continued to run down the short tunnel. We got to the end and I looked around for an exit, then looked up. There was a sewer grate right above my head. I pushed it open slightly, then stuck out my phone and took some pictures to see whether or not there were OZ soldiers up there. We were on the street right in front of my apartment and Heero was right, OZ wasn't out front.

"Okay, so OZ must be hiding in my apartment, so we'll get the bikes and leave immediately for the storage facility. We should split up. Quatre, you follow me, Heero, you follow Trowa, and Wufei, you go by yourself," I said. "We'll think of a plan once we get there."

I opened the grate the rest of the way and we snuck out and grabbed the bikes. To avoid OZ's attention, we took the bikes and pushed them around the corner and started them there. I took a left turn with Quatre, Trowa went right with Heero, and Wufei cut back in front of the apartment.

I checked over my shoulder every few minutes to see of we had been caught, but I never saw any OZ soldiers tailing us. We got to the storage place first and just as I opened my locker, Wufei pulled up. Trowa and Heero weren't too far behind him.

"I have a plan," Wufei murmured after he opened his locker.

"Yes…" I prompted.

"Look what the doctors left me," he said, pointing into his locker.

I walked over and peeked in. "An EMP," I breathed. "This is perfect."

"If we set this off, it'll get them all unorganized and chaotic," Wufei said.

"What is an EMP?" Quatre asked.

"Electromagnetic pulse generator. It's almost like a bomb. It emits an electromagnetic wave and completely wipes out any electronic device. So security cameras, gone. Control room, gone. Communication, gone. Mobile suits…gone," I explained.

"That's awesome!"

"So I was thinking, if we set this off, it'll cause absolute chaos, making it easier for us to infiltrate the base. San Fran is a huge base, so we'll need all the help we can get," Wufei said.

"This is great. We'll take this over tonight and set it off. They'll be out for at least a week before they can get their systems fixed. So that gives us plenty of time to get a plan together," Heero said.

"This is a big system thought," Trowa pointed out. "How are we going to transport it? And has anyone ever worked one of these things before? Cause I sure haven't."

Nobody said anything. Was I really the only one who knew how to handle an EMP?

"Come on guys! No one has ever used one of these before?" I asked. "What about you Wufei? You knew what it was."

"I've seen them before, but have never used one. Have you?" he responded.

"Yes, a few times actually. And to answer your question, Trowa, I know how to disassemble one of these. We can each transport a piece and put it back together at the base. And the beauty about this thing is that it works long range. So if we set it up next to the base, it'll still wipe out the entire San Fran base," I said, kneeling next to the machine and examining it. "I also know how to hook it up to a detonator so we can be long gone before we set it off."

"How long range? Because we only want OZ wiped out, not the entire block," Quatre asked.

"The San Fran base is in the middle of nowhere. The wave will definitely extend beyond its perimeters, but there is nothing else for it to effect," I reassured.

"We shouldn't go tonight," Trowa said. "It was just today that Jason told Duo and I that his dad was in the San Fran base now. Last time he told us about a base, we hit it that night. So now he and his dad will be expecting us to attack tonight and they will be prepared. We should wait a few nights. We don't want them to think that we work on a schedule."

"He has a good point," Quatre agreed.

"So what do we do now, then? It's not like we can go back to Duo's apartment," Wufei pointed out.

"I guess we'll just hang out here," Heero suggested.

"Should Trowa and I go back to school tomorrow?" I asked, hoping he'd say no.

"Yes. We don't want to raise any suspicions. And OZ isn't stupid enough to attack the school looking for you two. They're in the process of brainwashing the next generations into supporting OZ. They don't want to change your views by attacking the school."

"Fine. But I just want you to know I'll be going under protest," I frowned.

"Your feelings have been noted and ignored," Heero answered with a smile.

I stuck my tongue out and headed towards my storage locker. "Well since you are making me go to school tomorrow, I'd better get some sleep. Night!" I called and shut the locker, walking through the dark over to Deathscythe.

"I wish I could just take you out and use you to blow OZ to hell, but you stand out too much," I told him, climbing into the cockpit. "Night Deathscythe."

* * *

**That was a good chapter, am I right? The scene in the safe room with Duo playing with a tennis ball was the scene I had imagined when I first thought up this fanfic. It was so fun actually writing it! I've already started the next chapter, so I _should_ have it up by tomorrow, but no guarantees. Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Again I was completely brain dead yesterday and didn't finish typing this chapter. Sorry about that. Well, here it is. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 9

More Plans

I woke up at four thirty in the morning and I had no idea where I was. But as soon as I felt the cool metal of Deathscythe's interior under my fingers, it all came back to me. I remembered the reason I was sleeping in Deathscythe's cockpit instead of in my apartment, and about the EMP device we are going to use to cause chaos in the San Fran OZ base, and sadly, that I had school in a few hours.

I yawned and stretched, my hands bumping into the cold walls of the enclosed interior. I hopped out of the cockpit and onto the hard concrete. When I opened the storage locker, the sudden light blinded me. I looked around and noticed that everyone else's storage lockers were closed except for Wufei's. I walked over and peeked my head in. He was sitting on the hatch of Shinlong's cockpit, pulling some C-4 brick's out from in it and stacking them neatly on the hatch.

"You're up early," I noted, walking into the locker.

"You are too," he pointed out, not turning his attention from the explosives.

"Do you have any tools?" I asked him, sitting down in front of the EMP device.

"What do you need?" he asked, climbing into the cockpit.

"A screwdriver and… some needle nose pliers, please."

He tossed me the tools, then jumped off the hatch and joined me next to the EMP.

"Oh, do you have any det-cord? I'll need it to set up a detonator. I'm not sure whether or not I have any," I asked, looking at the EMP.

"I might," he said, standing.

"I don't need it now, but I will when I put it back together at OZ," I told them and he sat back down.

"What time do you have to leave for school?"

"Uh…school is about half an hour away, so…about two hours," I answered with a groan.

"I can work on this when you leave, if you tell me what to do."

"Actually…I should probably do it. It's a very sensitive device. The tiniest slip and you'll blow yourself up and destroy all our Gundams, not to mention set off all our explosives," I told him, laying on my stomach to get at one of the screws.

Just then I heard a locker open and Heero walked in. I got the screws and pulled off the metal cover.

"You're up early," I commented, carefully sticking my hand in the machine and feeling for the right screw.

"Yeah, look who's talking. You sure you know what you're doing? If you zap Wing, I'm going to kill you," he threatened and I knew it wasn't an empty threat.

"I set this off now and the three of us are dead, not just our Gundams," I told him, pulling out another sheet of metal, exposing the guts of the EMP.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked, sitting down next to the device.

"Well right now, I'm trying to defuse the EMP by removing the electromagnetic rod so I don't accidentally set it off while I'm taking it apart," I answered, feeling around for the most deadly component of this device.

"Need any help?" Wufei asked.

"Uh, not right now. Right now I just need you two not to touch anything until I get this thing unarmed."

I found the electromagnetic rod and loosened a few cords, unhooked a few clasps, then gently and carefully wrapped my fingers around the fragile instrument.

"Okay, here it goes," I murmured and Heero and Wufei tensed up.

I took a deep breath, then jerked back my hand. The rod disconnected with a few snaps of the cords and nothing happened. I exhaled and pulled out the small rod.

"Do you have something safe I can put this in?" I asked Wufei.

He jumped up and grabbed a shoebox, dumping out its contents and handing it to me.

"This'll work, but I'll need something to wrap it in," I told him.

They both shrugged and I tried to think on whether or not I had anything. I think my P.E. clothes were in my backpack. I stood and walked carefully over to my locker, carefully holding the contraption out in front of me. I found my backpack, carefully moving the heart to one hand, and grabbed my P.E. shirt out of the backpack. I wrapped up the device and walked back to Shinlong's locker, carefully placing the rod in the box.

"I'm going to ask you to watch this because I know you're responsible enough to keep it safe," I said, handing Heero the box. "But you can not drop, poke, shake, bump or in anyway _touch_ it, or it _will_ go off. Understand?" I warned.

"Got it. Don't touch the creepy, glowing, little rod."

I nodded, turning back to what was left of the EMP device.

"So if that is the dangerous part of the EMP, then what's the rest for?" Wufei asked.

"It's mainly just the housing components, but it also allows you to put a detonator or timer on it, restricts the blast to a flat, disk-like plane, and carries some heavy duty, close range explosives to destroy the evidence."

He nodded and I continued to work on the housing compartment for over an hour before I started getting ready for school. On my way passed Trowa's locker I pounded on the door.

"Trowa! Get up! We need to go to school!"

The door shot open, scaring the crap out of me.

"God. Do you have to be so annoying? I've been ready for an hour," he joked.

"That's what I do best," I teased.

"Are _you _ready?"

"Yeah, I just need to get my backpack then we can go."

The locker next to Trowa's opened and Quatre walked out, his hair all messy and in the process of rubbing his eyes.

"Morning Quatre. Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the Gundam," I teased.

"Ha ha," he mumbled, ruffling up his messy blonde hair. "I've never slept in my Gundam before. It was really weird to get used to."

"You've never slept in your Gundam? Then you haven't lived, Quatre," I said, disapprovingly.

"I've never had to!" he defended. "Sandrock is actually more comfortable than I thought he'd be."

I laughed, shaking my head in disappointment.

"Oh, I forgot something," Trowa said suddenly, running back towards his Gundam.

He jumped into Heavyarm's cockpit and rummaged around for a moment, then jumped back out and put the gun in his backpack. "Kay, I'm ready to go."

"You can go and I follow later. We don't want to go at the same time," I told him.

He nodded and grabbed his bike, riding it away. Quatre followed me into Wufei's locker and turned to Heero.

"I'm gonna leave in a sec. Don't get in any trouble while I'm gone."

"Honestly I'm more worried about you, Duo," Heero countered.

"Well, I'm worried about that electromagnetic rod. If that goes off, Trowa and I are screwed and you guys are dead," I said, pointing at the three of them.

"I get it, I get it. I put it in Wing's cockpit. It'll be safe," he promised.

I nodded and turned to get my bike from my locker and headed for the school. I pulled into the student parking lot and found the space where Trowa had parked and pulled into the space to save room. As I walked into the hall, I saw Trowa at his locker and Jason at his. I walked between them to mine and opened it.

"Can you… uhh… I can't get my locker," Trowa exhaled, his thick German accent sounding so unusual.

I laughed and he read off his combination as I spun his dial.

"Any plans for tonight?" Jason asked me.

"Uh, not that I know of," I responded.

"Then would you like to come over after school? We can finish our history homework or something. And my dad wants to meet the new Japanese kid," he added.

I'm sure he would. "But like I said before, I'm not really Japanese."

"But you moved here from Japan. You can speak Japanese, right?"

"Of course," I answered.

"So, he just wants to meet you. So what do you say?"

Crap. What _do_ I say? I can't go to his house. That would be suicide.

"I'll have to ask my dad," I told him.

"Okay," he answered and headed off to his first period class.

"That was close," I whispered, closing my locker.

"Yeah, but what do you do now? Call your 'dad'?" Trowa asked.

"I'll call someone," I answered.

"Good luck with that," he told me, walking off towards the main hall.

…

The bell shrilled out through the school, ending sixth period. I picked up my backpack and headed to my locker where, unfortunately, I ran into Jason.

"Sooooo…" he prompted.

"So what? Oh, right. I'll call him now," I remembered.

I pulled out my phone and speed dialed Heero. I don't know why it was Heero, but it just was. Probably because he was fun to mess with.

"What do you want, Duo?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"Hey dad," I answered.

"What the—"

"Can I go to a friends house to do homework and stuff?"

"You have a friend?"

"He's just a kid from school that I met. Please dad?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?! Are you high?"

"Please? We're just gonna do homework," I pretended to beg.

"What the hell do you want from me?! I'm hanging up," Heero threatened.

"Why not?"

"Why not _what_?!"

"Fine. I'll see you when I get home," I pretended to pout as the line went dead. I had to fight so hard not to start laughing. "He said no. He wants me to finish helping him unpack," I lied, turning my attention back to Jason.

"Well that sucks. Maybe next time?"

"Yeah, maybe." Not.

"Well, have a good weekend," he said, turning to leave.

Wow. Weekend. This had to be the longest week of my life. I turned and walked out of the hall towards the student parking lot. Trowa was already gone, so I mounted my bike and rode towards the storage facility. When I pulled into my locker, Heero was leaving.

"What the hell was that all about?" he asked.

"As soon as you tell me why you are in my locker," I countered.

"I put the rod in Deathscythe's cockpit. I almost sat on it three times," he told me.

"Well Jason invited me to his place after school. I needed a reason to bail."

"And no warning? That had to be the weirdest phone call I've ever gotten."

"And you automatically assumed I was high?"

He shrugged, then walked out of my locker. I climbed up into Deathscythe's cockpit and saw the box on the seat. I placed it on the hatch, then swung down, bringing it with me. I took it with me and headed into Wufei's locker. Everyone else was in there, checking out the EMP and discussing plans. I gently put the box down and sat in front of the EMP.

"Nobody…touch…the box," I said strictly.

"Why? What's in it?" Quatre asked, lifting the lid off the box.

"Didn't I say don't touch it?!" I chastised, smacking his hand.

"Well what is it?" he asked.

"It's the reason the EMP is so useful. It _is_ the EMP," I answered, putting the lid back on the box. "Don't touch it."

"That's cool."

I nodded, turning the housing compartment on its side to start taking it apart. I separated a third of it, then took the rest and divided it again, but then that was about it. They were small enough to transport though, so it would work.

"That's about all I can do, but it should be okay. So when do we go after OZ?" I asked.

"What do you guys think?" Heero asked.

"I think sometime this weekend," Wufei answered.

"I agree," Quatre responded.

"Absolutely," said Trowa.

"Works for me," I chipped in.

"Alright then. How about Sunday night? Let's let OZ scratch their heads for a few more days," Heero said.

"So that's when we'll set this up?" I asked for clarification, pointing to the EMP.

"Yes. Then after we do that, we'll decide when to hit."

OZ won't see what hit them, I thought with a smile. I couldn't wait until Sunday.

* * *

**So this was a kind of slow chapter. I guess it was more of a filler chapter. But I promise next chapter has a lot of action XD**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay! I love this chapter! XD this one is sooo good! I had to make it perfect, that's why it took me so long to finish it. Well, enjoy!**

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Chapter 10

Casualties

Most of Saturday and Sunday were spent in Wufei's locker, studying the EMP, making sure that when the time came I could put it together fast. I was always checking on the ominous shoebox, making sure the rod was safe. I kept the box within sight at all times, whether I was working on the EMP, or working in my Gundam, or doing anything.

Heero walked in just as I finished taking it apart again.

"You've taken that thing apart and put it back together about five times. What are you trying to accomplish?" he asked, sitting next to me.

"I just don't wanna forget how to do it or mess up while we're at OZ. Now, I'm gonna put it together with this," I said, pulling out the detonator I had put together in Deathscythe's cockpit earlier today.

"Is that the detonator?" he asked, taking it from my hands to look at it.

"Yeah," I answered.

"So how does it go in?" he asked, handing it back.

"These two wires are the det-cord Wufei gave to me. I press this button," I said as I pulled out a tiny remote, "and it receives the signal here, lighting the det-cord. The det-cord will be connected straight into the electromagnetic rod, setting it off and BOOM! That's how," I explained enthusiastically.

"Why two wires?"

"Just in case one fails."

He nodded and I carefully took out the electromagnetic rod. I asked him to hold it while I attached the det-cord.

"We're live now, so don't…move." I demanded, carefully placing the receiver box on the rod.

He nodded and I started to piece together the housing compartment. I got the first two pieces hooked together, then turned back to Heero and took the rod from him.

"Can you hold this in place while I hook it in?" I asked him after I got the rod positioned back into the housing compartment.

He nodded, holding the rod as I hooked up the wires and clasps and screws. I was attaching the last wire when my hand slipped and the pliers hit the end of the rod. I froze, waiting for the explosion and the end of my life, but nothing happened. I checked over the wires, and the det-cord, and the rod, but there was nothing wrong with them. Nothing had been triggered. I exhaled, lowering my head onto the cold metal of the housing compartment. My heart was beating painfully against my chest.

"What happened?" Heero asked.

"My hand slipped. That was close. Let's not do that again," I answered with a shaky laugh.

"You almost done? You are freaking me out."

"Yeah, one more wire."

I carefully hooked it up, this time without incident and Heero released the rod tentatively. It stayed in place and I smiled to myself, finishing putting it all back together.

"Awesome," I smiled.

"You ready to go blow OZ? It'll be dark in an hour, so we'll leave in about four. If you wanna go sleep I can wake you in a few hours."

"Okay, thanks. Let me just take this apart first."

"Alright," he said, walking back to his locker.

I carefully pulled everything apart and put the rod back in its box. I put the detonator and receiver next to the three pieces and stood, taking the rod with me. I climbed up onto Deathscythe's hatch and placed the box gently under my seat and climbed in. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, trying to get comfortable. Next thing I knew, someone was tapping my knee.

"Duo. Duo wake up. We're leaving in half an hour," Quatre's voice echoed in my ears.

"I'm awake," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and hanging my head.

"Here, thought you might want this," he said and placed something on Deathscythe's hatch.

I opened my eyes to see a Starbucks cup on the hatch.

"You know me so well," I teased, grabbing the cup and the box.

I handed the box carefully down to Quatre and jumped down. He gave me back the box and I took a long swig of the steaming hot coffee. I grabbed my backpack and Quatre followed me into Shinlong's locker. Trowa, Heero, and Wufei were loading the three pieces of the EMP into their backpacks. I put the detonator and the receiver in Quatre's backpack and he gently put the shoebox in mine.

"We ready to go?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Heero answered and everyone else agreed.

"We need a plan. It's going to take Duo a little while to get everything set up and we don't want OZ to find out about the EMP before we can detonate it. So I'm thinking, Duo will find the right spot and start to set up while the rest of us split up and catch the camera's to keep their attention off of Duo," Heero said.

"Good, except I think someone needs to stay and help Duo incase he needs it," Quatre said. "I'll volunteer."

"Absolutely. So Duo and Quatre will set up the EMP and the three of us will distract the cameras. Do you guys have your guns? We're going to need them."

"So should we split up or not?" Trowa asked.

"I think we shouldn't," Wufei answered.

"Why not? I think we should," Heero countered.

"Cause if we split up, they'll check all the cameras to make sure they found all of us, but if we're all together, they might not check the rest of the cameras," Wufei explained.

"Good point. So the three of us will pull up to the west side of the base and Duo and Quatre will head to the east side where the hanger is. The control rooms and communications rooms are right near the hanger so I think that would be the best place to set up."

"Alright, so is that it?" I asked, ready to get out of here.

"Yup, let's do this," Heero grinned and we all grabbed our bikes.

I downed my coffee and tossed it in a trash bin on our way out of the storage facility. Quatre followed close behind me and I close behind the other three.

After an hour of riding, Trowa, who was right in front of me, signaled for me to continue straight, then followed the other two off the main road onto the exit. We must've been close. They were circling around to get at the back and we were continuing straight to get at the front. My heart accelerated and my adrenaline started pumping. I revved the motorcycle and pushed it faster, Quatre keeping right on my tail. We followed the signs leading us towards OZ and soon found ourselves in a much less populated area. Not too long after that, the houses disappeared all together. It was another ten minutes before the base came into sight, and _damn_ was it big. Quatre pulled up next to me and handed me an ear piece that I stuck in my ear.

"Heero, we're at the base," Quatre said over the roar of our engines.

"Good. Wait until we get there before approaching the base. We're about five minutes out," Heero's voice echoed in my ear. "I'll give the signal once we have the guards and cameras distracted."

"Got it," we both said at the same time.

We pulled our bikes to a stop and waited. It was quite as we shut off the engines and waited for Heero's signal. I played with the end of my braid and Quatre ran a hand through his curly blonde hair. I swung my backpack in front of me and pulled out the rod to check if it was okay. Of course, if it wasn't I would be dead right now. And sure enough, it was perfectly intact. I gently laid the box back in my backpack and Heero's voice came over the link, making me jump.

"You guys ready? We're about to make our move," he said. Then I realized something.

"Wait a minute…you guys have the EMP parts. You'll need to get those to us somehow before you make your move," I told him.

"Way ahead of you, Duo. We found a spot next to the hanger already and left the parts there. You shouldn't have any trouble finding them."

"Alright. We're ready then," I answered.

"Let's do this," Quatre grinned and started up his bike.

I followed him to the side of the hanger where we found the EMP parts laid out neatly. I hurriedly jumped off the bike and got busy with the EMP. As it all was getting put together, I gave random commands to Quatre like, 'hold this' or 'tighten this' or move that'. I was hooking up the last det-cord wire to the rod when I accidentally sparked the one already connected. The cord immediately took flame and started to burn.

"Shit! Go go!" I yelled at both Quatre and into the link.

We jumped onto the motorcycles and turned them on, sending them as fast as they could go.

"What's going on?!" Heero's voice called back.

"The det-cord sparked and started to burn! Get out of—"

I didn't have time to finish because the EMP went off and we were too close. The motorcycles immediately shut down and the force of the electromagnetic wave slammed into us, sending us flying off the bikes. I hit pavement hard on my back and pain shot through my whole body. I cringed and rolled over onto my stomach.

"Heero? Heero can you hear me? Trowa? Wufei?" I asked into the dead comm.

No answer. I cursed under my breath, pulling the useless metal out of my ear and throwing it. Pain seared in the back of my head and I cringed, dropping my head onto the pavement. How could that have happened? How did it spark? I didn't touch them to anything that would've made them spark. I moaned, looking around for Quatre. I saw him roll over onto his back and sit up about five feet to my right. I rolled over onto my back, but just laid there.

"You okay Quatre?" I asked him.

"I hurt all over, but other than that I think I'm okay. No serious damage. What about you?"

"Ditto as far as I can tell," I responded, sitting up. My head seared and I grabbed at my head, closing my eyes and clenching my jaw.

"Do you think the others are okay?" he asked.

Before I could answer, I heard the sound of motorcycles and turned around to see three speeding towards us.

"Good thing these aren't electronic," I muttered, pulling out my guns and aiming it at the oncoming OZ bikes.

But then I realized that all OZ's transportation of any kind would have just been wiped out. That meant it had to be the other pilots. They had escaped the blast zone in time. I lowered my gun as Heero fishtailed to a stop right next to me.

"Duo! Quatre! Are you okay?" he shouted.

"We're fine. But our bikes aren't," Quatre answered.

"Hop on," Trowa told him and he did as he was told.

I tried to stand, but when I attempted to move my left leg, pain shot through it, making me cry out in agony.

"Duo! What's wrong?!" Heero asked, jumping off his bike.

"I-I can't move my leg," I answered through clenched teeth.

* * *

**Soooo? Was anyone expecting that? That was so fun to write! I hope I'll have the next chapter up by tomorrow, but the ideas have started slowing down, so who knows... I don't think there is much more of this story. It's coming to an end DX I'll be sad when it's over, but I'm getting ideas for new fics, soooo.... we'll see! Please review. It'll make me feel better about life XD**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I had piano lessons yesterday and didn't get to work on it that much. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 11

Diagnosis

"What do you mean you can't move your leg?!" Heero asked, shocked.

"That I can't move my leg!" I forced through clenched teeth.

"Are you in pain?" he asked.

"Only when I move it."

Heero suddenly picked me up and set me on the back of his bike. "Hold on," he demanded. I did as told and he took off.

The ride back into town was bumpy and painful. Not to mention awkward. I was straddling a motorcycle right behind Heero, half the time burring my face in his baggy green tank trying to hold back cries of pain. On entering Modesto, Heero made a wrong turn, heading in the opposite direction of the small cowboy town.

"Where are you going?" I asked over the wind and roar of the engine.

"The hospital. You are obviously seriously injured. It could be a spinal thing or even a head injury. You need to get it checked out," he explained, pulling into the hospital.

"And what exactly are you going to tell them when they ask what happened? Oh, we were just blowing up an OZ base. No biggy. He just got caught in the explosion that's all. Yeah, just tell them that," I mocked sarcastically.

"I'm going to tell them the truth. You jumped off your motorcycle," he answered, the concerned tone in his voice from earlier completely faded back into his emotionless façade.

I slapped him in the back of the head. "Fell. Not jumped."

He elbowed me in the gut and pain shot through my body. It took all my control not to hit him again because I knew it would just end badly for me. He pulled up onto the curb in front of the hospital doors, then looped an arm under mine and helped me hop into the ER. I still couldn't move my leg at all and with every hop I cringed against the pain that jolted through my leg.

"I need help over here!" Heero demanded and a nurse came running.

"What happened?" she asked, supporting my other side.

"He jum—" I slapped him in the back of the head, "fell off his motorcycle."

"What is it that hurts you, sir?" she asked as they led me down the hall.

"My entire left leg. I can't move it," I answered.

They walked me straight to an X-Ray and they laid me back onto the table. The nurse told Heero to wait outside as she put on a thick blue vest. She positioned the X-Ray machine over my left hip and took the picture, then again over my knee, and one more over my ankle. The nurse rolled over a wheelchair and helped me on. Heero followed us down the hall and into a small room. The nurse handed me a gown and I wheeled myself into the small bathroom. I struggled to get out of my priest uniform and into the gown, but I got it, then rolled myself back out. The nurse and Heero helped me into the bed and the nurse stuck a needle in my arm. I gave her a suspicious looked she reassured me that it was just morphine.

A doctor then walked in, holding a chart.

"So, I hear you fell off your motorcycle?" he asked and I nodded.

"While we're waiting for your X-Rays, I need to check your head for signs of a concussion," he said.

I nodded and he pulled out a pair of scissors and an electric razor.

"What's that for?" I asked hesitantly.

"I need to cut your hair so I can check your head."

I sat up quickly and Heero pushed me back down.

"Don't…touch…my hair," I demanded.

"I guess I can do it without cutting your hair," he shrugged. "But you'll have to take out your braid."

"Fine," I answered, pulling out the tie and letting down my hair.

The doctor checked my head for lacerations and signs of a concussion, then checked over my stomach and chest to make sure I didn't have any internal damage. He didn't find anything other that a few bumps and bruises other than my leg. I rebraided my hair as a nurse walked in with a big folder. The doctor pulled out the X-Rays and put them up on the light board.

"Looks like you took some serious damage to your left leg, kid," he said, scanning the three pictures. "You broke your Femur and broke your Tibia in two places. You also sustained several hair line fractures to your Fibula, Tibia, and Femur."

"How long do I have to stay here?" I asked.

"Not long. We'll get a cast and a splint on your leg and then you're free to go."

"Really?" I asked enthusiastically.

"Absolutely. I'll just ask that you stay off it for six to eight weeks."

"Two moths?!"

"You broke your leg in six plus places."

I groaned, laying my head back. The doctor left, then returned moments later with a handful of supplies. He put a black cast on my lower leg, but just wrapped my upper leg, explaining that it was pointless to cast that if I was going to be wearing the metal brace. He then strapped a big, metal contraption to my leg. It strapped around my foot, just below my knee, and at the top of my upper leg. It had two thick metal supports down the side and 'joints' at the knee, along with smaller supports that wrapped around my leg in several places. It was heavy and uncomfortable.

"This allows you to flex your ankle and knee, but keeps your Tibia and Femur aligned. I ask that you wear this at all times with the exception of when you sleep. When you sleep you should sleep on your right side with a pillow between your legs. In three weeks, you should come back for a check up and we'll see if you are healed enough to take that off. And here is a doctor's note letting you out of P.E. until you are completely healed."

I nodded and he handed me a pair of crutches and a small piece of paper.

"You are free to go," the doctor said, signing my chart and leaving with the nurse.

Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei walked in behind them.

"That looks so cool," Quatre said, pointing at the metal contraption on my leg.

"You want it? Cause I'll gladly trade you places," I offered.

"I think I'll pass," he grinned.

"How do you feel?" Trowa asked.

"Like I just broke my leg," I answered teasingly.

"That looks like more than just a broke leg," Wufei said.

"Okay, I feel like I just broke my leg in six places. That better?" I rephrased.

"That makes more sense," he answered.

"_Six_?" Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"Three breaks and a few hairline fractures according to the doc," I answered, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

My leg felt so heavy and off balanced. I could move my knee now, but everything below that I still couldn't move. I grabbed my crutches and stood.

"So I think it's obvious that you aren't coming with us to blow OZ in a few days," Heero said quietly.

"What?!" I demanded, spinning around to face him and almost falling over.

"You heard the doc. You'll be in that brace for three weeks and will be off your leg for two months. We can't wait that long. They'll have there systems up in two weeks at the latest."

"But this is my base, my mission," I argued.

"Shhh. We'll talk about this later when we're alone. Let's go," Heero demanded.

I hobbled out of the room and behind Heero on our way to his bike. Heero helped me onto the bike and with one hand I held onto Heero's baggy tank and with the other I held my crutches. It was so uncomfortable because the brace was pressing into my leg and only bent in one direction. Good thing the ride to the storage facility was short. But Heero surprised me yet again by passing the facility.

"Where are we going now?"

"Your apartment. OZ should be gone. You weren't home for four days. They have probably given up. We're just gonna check it out. You shouldn't sleep in your Gundam with your leg like that."

"Thanks, Heero."

We pulled up to the front of the apartment and it seemed empty so Heero parked the bike and climbed off. I handed him my key and he pulled out his gun.

"Stay here," he whispered, walking towards the door.

It was so dark and I could hardly see Heero as he slipped the key in the door. He walked inside and disappeared from view, leaving the door hanging open. Wufei then pulled up next to me right ahead of Trowa and Quatre.

"Is Heero checking out the apartment?" Trowa asked.

"Yeah. It doesn't look like anyone is in there though," I answered.

Moments later Heero walked out and gestured for us to come in. I swung my leg over the bike and stood, hobbling over to the door. I plopped down on one end of the couch and sighed deeply. Heero sat down on the other side of the couch with his laptop.

"So this really sucks," I exhaled.

"Oh no really?" Heero asked sarcastically, staring intently at his computer screen. "So what the hell happened?"

"I have no idea. I was connecting the second det-cord wire to the end of the electromagnetic rod and something sparked the one already connected. I would've liked to take a look at it, but that's one thing the EMP is really good at. Destroying evidence."

"So you have no idea what happened?" Wufei asked.

"No. Gah! I wish I did though," I complained.

Suddenly something up in the corner of the room blew up. It wasn't an explosive because the explosion was no bigger than the size of my fist, but it still made me jump. "What the hell?!"

"That was me," Heero smiled.

"What the hell?!" I repeated.

"I found the security camera they planted," he answered.

"How did you know there was one?" Trowa asked.

"There is always one. Well, there isn't one anymore. I made it short circuit, that's why is exploded."

"But they already have tape of us," Quatre pointed out.

"That kind of camera doesn't record onto a disk or a chip. It transmits straight to the San Fran base's security room. The one that has just experienced a hard-drive wiping EMP."

"Awesome," I smiled. "So they never got the footage?"

"Nope, and they never will. It's not anything they can recover because it never recorded."

"So what about our mission?" Trowa asked. "When do we hit?"

"I say give them a week to freak out. They might've thought that was our attack, so they won't be expecting another attack," Wufei answered.

"Okay, and what about Duo?" Heero asked. "What do we do with him?"

"'What do we do with him?' Really?! I'm not a dog!" I cut in.

"He can come. He won't be able to do much, if anything at all, but that means he wouldn't be able to get in the way either," Trowa responded with a grin.

I threw the pillow at him and he laughed.

"I agree though. About you coming," Heero added as I turned my glare to him. "This is Duo's base and his mission. I know that if I were in his place I'd want to be there."

"I agree too," added Quatre.

"Awesome," I smiled. "Well, I'm wiped out. Aw crap. We have school tomorrow Trowa. Damn. We should crash."

"Ugh! Do we have to? I keep forgetting that I'm supposed to be German. It's so annoying talking in that accent," Trowa complained.

"Yes, you have to go," Heero answered.

"Ah, my leg hurts. I don't think I can go to school," I complained sarcastically.

He slapped me in the back of the head. "Too bad. You're going to school."

"Yes _dad_," I teased. "Well at least I get out of P.E.," I smiled and Trowa glared at me.

I stood and crutched over to my room. I unhooked the leg brace and placed it on the ground next to my bed. I hobbled over to my closet and changed, then hobbled over to the light switch. I made my way through the dark to my bed and laid my crutches next to the brace, hopping into bed. I put the extra pillow between my legs and tried to fall asleep. The next two months were going to suck.

That night I woke often because of pain in my leg. I got up four hours later and groggily changed back into my priest outfit and strapped on my leg brace. When I entered the front room, I quietly crutched by Wufei asleep on the couch and joined Trowa in the kitchen.

"You're gonna have to walk to school. Sorry, but I can't be seen giving you a ride. Sorry," he apologized over a cup of coffee, running his fingers through his unruly bangs.

"It's fine. It's not that far away. I understand," I answered, pouring my own cup of coffee.

He left just after that and Heero walked in.

"I could give you a ride if you feel uncomfortable walking," he offered, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, that's not inconspicuous at all," I mocked. "I'll be fine. Thanks though."

He shrugged and I downed my coffee as I heard Trowa's motorcycle start up and fade away. I picked up my backpack, made sure my gun was in it, then hobbled out the door. The walk to school took a little longer than usual, but that was to be expected. I spotted Trowa's bike in the student parking lot as I entered the main hall. I got some looks as I hurried towards my locker.

Trowa and Jason were talking at their lockers when I entered the L wing.

"Oh my God!" Jason gasped.

"What happened?" Trowa asked in his German accent, sounding genuinely surprised. Oh right, he wasn't supposed to know.

"Fell off my motorcycle," I answered, spinning the dial on my locker.

"How the hell did you do that?" Jason asked. Did I imagine the suspicious tone in his voice?

"My motorcycle shut off on the highway and I lost control," I said, not completely lying.

"Huh. And how did _that_ happen?" he pressed.

"I have no idea, honestly," I lied.

"Well that sucks," he said. I knew he didn't believe me.

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

The bell rang and I headed for the gym. I walked into the guys' locker room and straight into Mr. Neeson's office.

"Yes?" he muttered, not looking up from his computer.

"Uh, I have a doctor's note," I told him, pulling the small piece of paper out of my pocket.

"What for?" He still didn't look up.

"Uh, I broke my leg."

He finally looked up.

"Holy… What happened to you?" he asked.

"Fell off my motorcycle," I answered mechanically.

"How long will you be out?"

"Uh, the note says about at least six weeks."

"Okay. Don't bother dressing out."

I nodded and hobbled out to the gym. Today the class had to run a mile in under eight minutes. Awesome, I smiled to myself as I sat on the bleachers next to the track and watched the students run their little hearts out.

The day continued slowly, like always. But the day finally ended and Trowa 'offered' to give me a ride home. I agreed and we rode around the block to my apartment.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, climbing off the bike.

"Cause I think you drew blood," he teased, rubbing his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized, following him up to the apartment.

"I was just kidding. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, it just hurts like I bitch."

"The doc didn't give you any pain pills?"

"No, but I can handle it. I am a Gundam pilot after all," I promised as we walked in the door.

"You sure? I can go get you some meds if it's really bothering you that much."

"What's going on?" Heero asked. "You okay Duo?"

"I'm fine! Since when did you guys care so much?" I joked.

"You are like a brother to us. We're all family and when one of the brothers is in pain, we all feel it," Quatre answered.

"Thanks guys, but I've never seen Heero like this before and it's kinda scaring me."

Heero, Trowa, and Quatre all laughed and Heero surprised the shit out of me by stepping forward and giving me a hug.

"You _are_ a brother to us."

* * *

**So, who likes the sensitive side of Heero? I'm not sure I do... oh well. I have the next little bit of chapter 12 written, so I might have it up tomorrow, I might not. Hopefully XD Please review and tell me if you like the new sensitive Heero, cause I'm debating on whether or not to change him back in the next chapter... I don't know if I should or not.**


	12. Chapter 12

**So... another filler chapter kind of... yeah, thats it XD Enjoy!**

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Chapter 12

Cause

That was the last time we saw the sensitive side of Heero. He immediately went back to his normal, emotionless, 'perfect soldier' façade, which was fine by me. It was honestly kind of scary seeing that side of him. He did pick me up a prescription for pain meds and put hooks on his bike to hold my crutches. But other than that, he was completely blank.

We discussed plans for blowing the base and decided that we'd go Saturday night. They agreed that I could go, but that I'd just carry Heero's backpack. They also made me promise to stay on the bike. I agreed, but not without protest. I hated that I couldn't do anything except be the pack mule on my own mission.

"Hey Heero? You wanna take me to the storage place?" I asked as I walked in the door Friday after school.

"Sure. Why?" he asked.

"Well I wanna do _something_. I hate how useless all this makes me feel," I complained, gesturing to my braced leg.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Set up the C-4. It's the only thing I can think of."

"Whatever. Let me get my keys. Trowa! We're leaving!" he called into the spare room.

I hopped up and followed Heero out the door and to the motorcycle. Hanging up the crutches, I hopped on behind Heero. Before he took off, I popped the top off the pill bottle and took two of the small white pain pills.

At the storage locker, I gathered up all the explosives and fuses I could find and sat on the ground, my back against Deathscythe. I got to work cutting fuses and attacking them to the ends of the C-4 blocks. Heero distributed the live C-4 to the other lockers as I finished them.

"How many do we have so far?" I asked him as he came back for more of the C-4 bricks.

"Six in everybody's except for one that had seven. Everybody minus you," he clarified, picking up the small pile I had finished already.

"How many do we need?"

"Probably about ten for each of us," he answered.

"Minus me?"

"Minus you. You are going to be carrying my backpack since I have to share my bike."

"What about Quatre and Trowa? Aren't they sharing?" I asked, attaching another fuse to another C-4 brick.

"Quatre and Wufei are out getting your bikes from the base. Quatre will have his bike back so he won't need to ride with Trowa."

I nodded. "And Wufei is getting my bike?"

"Yes, not like you'll be able to use it," he answered.

I pouted as Heero stacked on of the bricks onto the other. Suddenly, there was a spark and the two C-4 fuses lit. Heero bolted out of the locker and chucked the blocks, then ran back in and slammed the locker door. He stayed completely blank the entire time. That next second, the C-4 went off, shaking the entire locker. Then I realized…

"I know what happened!" I stood, holding the fuse coil between my hand and the handle of the crutch. I couldn't see anything in the dark so I stayed put so I wouldn't trip over anything.

"You mean just now?" echoed Heero's flat voice from across the darkness.

"Yes! And at the San Fran base! It's the fuses!"

"Obviously," he said, opening the locker and letting in the flood of light and smoke.

I coughed, waving a hand in front of my face to clear the smoke. "I mean this fuse coil must be faulty because I'm pretty sure that it was this coil I used for the EMP."

"How can you tell?" he asked, walking back into the locker.

"This is my fuse coil. It's a different color that Wufei's," I told him, gesturing to Wufei's coil at my feet. Mine was twisted blue and black, his yellow and black. "I want to try something."

"Try what?" he asked warily, raising an eyebrow at me.

I cut two small pieces off my coil and then hobbled towards the door, Heero following close behind. I took a breath, then touched the end of the fuses together. They sparked, catching fire.

"I knew it," I muttered, dropping the fuses onto the ground. "My coil is faulty. Can you bring me all the C-4 bricks with the blue and black wire? I shouldn't need to change them, I just need to wrap the ends so they won't ignite each other in anyone's backpack on the way to the base."

Heero nodded and disappeared into Heavyarm's locker. I crutched back over to Deathscythe and hauled myself up into the cockpit, which was actually quite difficult and painful. Leaning into the cockpit, I rummaged around for tape and paper towels. I wasn't even sure if I had any. My braid flipped over my face and I blew at it. I was suddenly flooded with a sense of déjà vu and smiled at the memory of blowing the Modesto base. Was it really only two weeks ago?

"How the hell did you get up there?" Heero's monotone voice called from beneath me.

I jumped, my knees crashing against the hard metal of Deathscythe's hatch. My entire leg vibrated, making me bite my touch to hold back the cry of pain.

"Ouch! Damn it!" I managed.

"Sorry," he said with no feeling. "What are you doing up there?"

"Trying to find tape and paper towels to wrap the fuses," I answered, grasping at my stinging leg, but unable to due to the brace.

"I already got some," he answered.

I let out an exasperated breath, throwing up my hands. "You couldn't tell me that a few minutes ago?!" I slid off the edge and landed on my good leg, almost losing my balance. I sat down and Heero handed me a wad of paper towels and a roll of duck tape, then retreated to go get the rest of the bricks. When I finally finished wrapping the ends of the fuses, I chucked my faulty coil up and onto Deathscythe's hatch. I didn't have too many more blocks to do and Wufei's coil had enough left… hopefully. But of course it didn't.

"Ugh, crap. Heero!" I called.

"What?" I heard him call back.

"Do you have a fuse coil I can use? Wufei ran out!"

"Just use yours!"

"But—"

"I don't have any. It'll be fine," he cut me off.

I exhaled and stood, reaching up onto the hatch, but couldn't find the coil. I groaned and heaved myself up onto the hatch, grabbed the coil, then lowered myself down. I lost my balance and fell back onto my ass, able to keep my braced leg from hitting the ground. I popped two more pills, then started with the bricks and duck tape. When I was done, I leaned back into my Gundam and waited for Heero to come get the rest of the bricks. I flipped the pill bottle between my fingers and played with a strand of duck tape. Where the hell was he? I got tired of waiting and loaded up the live C-4 into my backpack. Slinging it onto my shoulder, I stood, grabbed my crutches, then hobbled off to distribute the C-4. When I got to Wing's locker, I found Heero loading his C-4 into his tattered, dark green backpack.

"I have some more for you," I told him, handing him a few more blocks.

"Thanks," he answered in his usual flat voice.

I helped him load the rest of the C-4 into the other pilot's backpacks, then he told me to go wait at the bike while he had to go do something. I agreed, and hobbled back towards the bike. A few minutes later he locked up all lockers and hopped onto the bike, starting it up without a word.

"So…what were you doing?" I asked.

He didn't answer. I poked his shoulder and he elbowed me in the gut. I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head, letting it go. He wasn't going to tell me and there was no way I would be able to get it out of him without another trip to the emergency room. He pulled into the space in front of my apartment with the other four bikes. I smiled and ran my fingers over the scrapped and dented paint of my motorcycle. I'd have to fix it up later, but I was glad to have it back.

"You won't be able to ride it even if you tried," Heero said as he walked by. "Kick-start is on the left side."

I frowned, following him into the apartment. Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei were all watching the news broadcast. They were still talking about 'devastating effects of an EMP attack at the San Francisco base'.

"Police still haven't located the remains of the EMP device used in this devastating attack," the woman said.

"And they never will," I smirked, sitting down between Quatre and Wufei on the couch.

"Neither have they found any evidence leading to this unknown assailant. OZ believes from what they know so far, that it was an attack by an unknown rebel from the space colonies."

"Unknown my ass," I interrupted. "They know it was the Gundam pilots, they just don't know who they Gundam pilots are."

"OZ is in the process of repairing and recovering damaged files and operating system. OZ believes that if they can find the lost security footage of the San Francisco base, they would find images of the assailant."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Trowa scoffed.

Wufei muted the T.V. and turned to me. "Where did you two go?" he asked.

"The storage lockers. I set up the explosives for you guys," I answered. "Thanks for getting my bike."

"No prob."

"You know you won't be able to ride it. Your kick-start is on the left side," Quatre pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," I huffed.

"How bout we do our homework and get it out of the way, Duo," Trowa sighed, dumping out his stuff onto the ground.

"Ugh. No one else has homework," I complained. "Fine, as long as we can do it at the table. I'm not sure I'd be able to get up off the floor," I answered, standing.

"Oh, right," he responded, picking up his stuff and dumping it on the table.

I grabbed my backpack and sat next to him, pulling out my Pre-Cal book. I got an ominous feeling as we started on our work. It was only just over a week ago that Trowa and I were doing our Pre-Cal homework when OZ busted in my door. Once the homework was done without incident, I pulled out a poker set I had found in the front room a while ago. Quatre joined us, but Heero and Wufei passed.

"What time is it?" I asked, pushing forward a small stack of chips into the middle of the table.

"What happened to that watch I gave you?" Heero asked, exasperated.

"I gave it back, didn't I?" I asked.

"Just after eight," Heero responded.

"Thanks," I answered, calling Trowa's raise. "Is anyone hungry, cause I think I am."

"Kinda," Quatre answered, frowning at his cards, then pushing the rest of his chips into the center.

"Yeah, I guess," Trowa responded, counting out his chips and tossing them into the middle.

"Wanna order a pizza, Heero?" I asked. "Phonebook should be under the coffee table."

I heard Heero pick up the thick book and flip through it, then dial. "What does everyone want?" he asked.

"Just cheese," I answered, laying down my pocket aces with a grin. Trowa slapped his forehead and Quatre dropped his head onto the table with a thud.

"Who's winning?" Wufei asked, turning to see what had just happened.

"Duo is kicking ass," I answered, gathering up the chips with a smug smile.

"Yeah, and Quatre just lost," Quatre complained into the table where his chips should have been.

"Trowa is not doing so good either," Trowa frowned, dealing out new cards to himself and me. Quatre kept his head down.

"Wufei is wondering why we are talking in the third person," Wufei added.

"Because Duo thinks it is fun," I smiled.

"And Heero thinks you guys are all idiots," Heero responded, not looking up from his book.

I laughed, and fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"It's the pizza. Go get it, Duo," Heero told me, keeping his eyes on his book.

"Yes, make the cripple go answer the door," I teased, putting down my cards and answering the door.

"Well, you are the only one here," Trowa pointed out, looking at his new cards and scratching his chin.

I hobbled over to the door as Wufei and Heero headed into the kitchen, out of sight. As soon as I opened the door, I was glad they had.

"Hi, Duo," Jason waved, balancing a pizza in his other hand.

"Oh, hi Jason. I didn't know you worked for the pizza place."

"Yeah. I saw that you were on the delivery list, so I volunteered to take it. So you getting around okay?" he asked, gesturing to my leg.

"I guess."

"Big pizza for just you. Is your dad home?" he asked. He was trying to get me to slip.

"No. He practically lives at work. Trowa is here. We're working on our term papers and our Pre-Cal homework," I told him.

"Huh," he shrugged as Trowa entered the room, and took the pizza, handing Jason a wad of cash.

"You wanna come in?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't. He had to get back to work, but he now he knows I don't have anything to hide, like a houseful of Gundam pilots.

"No, I can't. I need to get back to work. But do you wanna get together sometime this weekend? Maybe work on our history homework?"

"Yeah, sounds good. How about tomorrow? Around eleven?" I asked. I wanted him to think I wasn't hiding anything.

"Sure. Your place or mine?"

"Mine. I can't exactly get around very easily," I pointed out, gesturing to my braced leg.

"Right. Tomorrow at eleven. See you then."

* * *

**So yeah... this story is starting to come to an end DX Just about...two more chapters maybe? *sighs* Please review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**So this is the last chapter DX I finished writing it during lunch today and was all like 'awww.....' Oh well, had to come sometime. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 13

Mission Complete

Wufei refused to hide in the safe room while the 'pathetic little OZ brat' was here, so he took off on his motorcycle. Trowa, Quatre, and Heero stayed, and at quarter to eleven, disappeared into the safe room. I quickly picked up, erasing any evidence that there was anyone else here other than me.

There was a knock on the door and I crutched over to answer it. A big, black SUV pulled away as I let Jason in.

"Nice place," he commented, looking around. Probably for signs of other people.

"Thanks," I said.

"Your dad home?"

"No. Like I said, he practically lives at work."

He nodded and sat on the couch. I eased down onto the other end of the couch and pulled out my history notebook. He pulled out his and we worked on our homework. After a while, it became apparent that he had only come to gather evidence against me, because he was constantly looking around.

It was almost four and Jason was trying to walk around in my brace while I laid back into the couch, laughing. There was a knock on the door and I got my crutches and stood. I knew I wasn't supposed to move around without the brace, but now I knew it wasn't just a bad idea, but very painful as well. I answered the door and Wufei was standing there.

"Uh, can I help you?" I asked, trying to act like I didn't know him.

He got the hint and started to turn away. "Sorry, wrong apartment."

I closed the door and took a pain pill before slowly heading back to the couch.

"That was weird," I mumbled as Jason unhooked the brace from his leg.

"Who was it?"

"Some scary looking Chinese guy with really weird pants. He looked like a kind of guy with an overbearing sense of justice, if you know what I mean," I described, fighting to hold back a laugh.

"That's not weird at all," Jason mocked sarcastically. "God this thing weighs a ton! I feel bad for you."

"Tell me about it," I grumbled, easing it carefully back onto my leg. "At least my leg doesn't hurt as much with it on."

"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked, helping my strap it around my foot.

"Yeah. And pills don't really work," I complained, tossing the small orange bottle onto the couch. "They just make me feel empty all over, but I still feel all the pain, it's just…a little more bearable." I don't know why I was telling this to him. I'd know I'd never say it to the other pilots. I was strong. I could handle it. Or so I wanted them to think.

"That's tough man." It was quiet for a while before he continued. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," I said warily.

"You have to promise that you won't tell anyone I said this to you," he said, giving me a pleading look.

"Promise," I responded.

"I really like you. I mean like a friend," he answered when I gave him a look. "My dad… my dad isn't a janitor. He's head of operations at the San Fran base. He's been trying to get me to get you to confess to being a Gundam pilot and blowing the bases and shit like that. I don't care if you did or if you really are a Gundam pilot. I hate spying on you all the time and trying to catch you doing things like that. I like you as a friend and I want to have an actual friendship with you, not a fake one to get you to trust me. Does that make since? And I swear I'm straight. I didn't mean for that to sound that way."

"I get it. And for the record, I'm not a Gundam pilot," I lied. Maybe one day I would tell him. When I was sure he wouldn't turn on me. Because this could all be another trick.

"Okay. So, do you trust me now?" he asked. "I swear that was all sincere."

"I believe you."

"Awesome. Well, I should go. My dad is probably going to be here soon." Just then there was a car horn out front. "Promise you won't tell anybody?"

"Promise."

"Thanks," he said, heading to the front door and opening it. "Hope you feel better soon. And that guy with the weird pants and an overbearing sense of justice is hanging around down the hall, I'd lock your doors and window tonight," he whispered the last parts about Wufei.

I couldn't help but laugh. He smiled, then left. I was about to get up and let the boys out of the safe room when there was a knock on the door. I opened it and let Wufei in.

"Weird pants? Really?" he glared.

I shrugged and he walked into the room. Just then, the safe room opened and the other three pilots filed into the room.

"I want to try on your brace!" Quatre called, skipping up to me.

"What?" I asked in confusion. That room is sound proof. Both ways.

"Heero bugged your apartment before that kid came. Just so we could make sure everything was going okay," Trowa responded.

"Yeah, it was really boring until the kid asked if he could wear your 'weird robotic metal leg thingy,'" Quatre quoted.

I laughed. "Sure, if you want," I rolled my eyes as he jumped onto the couch next to me, practically bouncing up and down.

It was even funnier watching Quatre walk around like a retarded crippled penguin. Only because he actually tripped a few times, once nearly landing on his face. I had to actually ask him to give it back before he could break it.

"So when are we going to go to the OZ base?" Wufei asked as Quatre waddled his way over to me.

"I don't get how you can use this thing! It's so damn heavy!" Quatre told me, plopping onto the couch.

"You know, you can bend your knee," I pointed out.

He flexed his knee a few times than glared at me. "You couldn't have told me that five minutes ago?"

"I assumed you'd actually try instead of waddling around like a diseased bird."

He laughed, unbuckling the buckles.

"So… plan? Anyone?" Wufei pressed.

"Well the C-4 is set up and distributed, so we can leave around ten thirty, pick up the C-4, then get to the base my midnight," I answered, slipping on my brace.

"And when we get there? What's the plan?" Trowa asked.

"I'll take the hanger on the south side with Duo. Someone can get the west side where I think the offices and barracks are. On the east side are the main towers. Then whoever remains can take the north. I'm not sure what's over there," Heero said.

"I'll take the east," Wufei volunteered.

"Then I'll take the west," Trowa responded.

"I guess that leaves me with the north," Quatre said.

"I think that's where the air strips are. If so, you should attack from further within the base," I told him.

Quatre nodded and headed for the safe room. "If that's it, I'm going to get some sleep before we leave."

Heero nodded and followed him.

"If you want to crash too, Wufei, you can use my room. I'm not gonna sleep. I'll just sleep in tomorrow morning," I told him.

"You sure?" he asked. "You should sleep and I'd hate to make you sleep on the couch."

"I'm not going to sleep. It's really… uncomfortable," I answered. It was more than uncomfortable, but I wasn't going to say it. I was a Gundam pilot. I could handle a broken leg.

"Oh, right. If you change your mind don't be afraid to wake me."

I nodded and he disappeared into my room. Trowa then asked me if I'd be okay by myself. I told him that I'd be fine and he walked into the spare. Should I sleep? I probably should. I needed to stay awake during this mission, even though I wouldn't be doing anything. But I wasn't going to go wake Wufei. The couch wouldn't be much worse than a regular bed anyway. Besides, it's not like I'll actually be able to sleep, no matter where I am. I pulled off my brace, stuck the pillow in between my knees, and laid down.

I woke often. Much too often for this 'nap' to be very effective. Whether it was the pillow falling, or my leg hitting the armrest, or even hitting my other leg, I was always waking in some form of pain. And if I had taken a pain pill every time that had happened, I'd have overdosed by now. I was able to fall asleep for the seventeenth or eighteenth time in four hours, only to be woken ten minutes later by Wufei.

"You said you'd wake me," he frowned.

"I was just taking a nap. And it wouldn't have been any better in there anyway," I promised, sitting up and rubbing my leg.

He handed me my brace and the small orange pill bottle, then headed into the kitchen. I slipped on the brace, took a pill, then followed him. He made us some ramen, then I pulled out the poker chips and a deck of cards.

"We need a better plan. This is a really big base. Merely showing up, planting bombs, then hooking it isn't going to work so well," he said as he tossed some chips into the middle of the table.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, counting out a few of my chips.

"For starters, some of us are going to need more C-4 than others. Like you and Yuy are going to need way more than ten bricks to blow the entire hanger. And on the other hand, Winner and Barton aren't going to need the twenty between them to blow whatever it is they're blowing."

"I agree," I answered, flipping over the next card in the river.

"I don't think we'd be able to carry the explosives we need though. I think we'd have to all meet at the same place, swap C-4, then meet back at the hanger before blowing the place," he thought out loud, calling my bet.

"Good, except for the fact that we're on fuses," I pointed out, raising his call.

"No we're… Oh right. Never mind," he said, frowning. He folded, leaning back into his chair. "But we should still all distribute C-4 at the hanger."

"Yeah. Trowa and Quatre are probably only going to need ten to fifteen between the two of them. Are you okay with only fifteen?"

"I should be. But you guys won't."

"Well we could always set up some more. There is plenty of C-4 left," I suggested.

"Yeah. Let's go before the others wake up," Wufei said, standing.

I nodded and he grabbed Heero's keys off the counter.

"Those are Heero's keys," I pointed out.

"I know. His bike it the one with the hooks for your crutches, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

I followed him out of the apartment and towards Heero's bike. I hung the crutches on the sides of the bike, then climbed on behind Wufei. I could tell that the close proximity bothered him slightly, so I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and sat as far back as physically possible on the small bike. We got to the storage facility and Wufei opened my locker and Shinlong's locker. Wufei gathered up the C-4 and I fused them. He wrapped the ends of the fuses and redistributed then into everyone's backpacks. We were just finishing up when my phone rang.

"Where's my bike, Maxwell," Heero demanded in a voice that scared the crap out of me.

"I have it," I answered.

"I've noticed! Where are you?!"

"The storage facility with Wufei."

"We're on our way," he said flatly.

"Alright."

"And Duo?"

"Yeah?"

"Touch my bike again without my permission, and I will kill you," he threatened, then the line went dead. I shuddered.

"He's pissed," I told Wufei.

"Who, Heero?"

I nodded.

"That's not good."

"No, it's not."

About ten minutes later, just before ten thirty, the other pilots arrived. Heero fishtailed to a stop right in front of my and Wufei. He swung off Wufei's bike and jumped on his.

"I set up some more C-4," I told Heero, hoping he wouldn't beat me before I got to see the San Fran base demolished.

"Let's go," he called to everyone.

We all gathered our backpacks and I hopped onto Heero's bike. Heero fishtailed out of the storage facility, followed closely by the others. Heero didn't seem as pissed as I had expected him to be, which was good for me. But he was quiet the entire way to the base, which wasn't very good. And when we got to the base, we exchanged C-4 and Heero grabbed my backpack off my back and ran into the hanger, leaving me alone with the bike. I watched as he loaded the cockpits of the Leos and Aries with the C-4 and removed the wraps. God, how I wanted to help. The other pilots were quick and arrived back at the hanger just as Heero strode out of the hanger. Without lighting the fuses.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me we forgot the matches," I called, my heart accelerating.

He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me, mounting the bike. In my hand, was a small metal cylinder. It was a detonator.

"What…"

"That's what I was working on when we set up the C-4 yesterday," he answered, starting the bike.

"But—"

"Just push the button, Maxwell," Heero demanded as we started riding away.

I pushed the button and within seconds, the explosion went off. A smile spread across my face at the sound of the base collapsing in on itself. The base was gone. Mission complete.

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**So I kinda sorta lied when i said that was the last chapter. There _is_ a epilogue but it's pretty short. Please review!**


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue

The next morning I woke really early. I groaned and rolled over, forgetting about my leg. The surge of pain woke me up completely and I couldn't go back to sleep. A sound in the front room startled me. I sat up, listening, but it was dead quiet. Picking my crutches up off the floor, I stood and hobbled to the front room without my brace.

On the floor in front of the front door was a folded piece of paper. I crutched over and to the best of my abilities, leaned down and pick it up. Trowa walked into the front room then and quietly walked by Wufei asleep on the couch.

"What's that?" he whispered.

"I don't know," I told him, sitting down at the kitchen table.

I opened the paper. It was a note from the doctors. The top was labeled 'Dear Gundam Pilots' so I closed it, deciding to read it when the rest of the pilots woke up. Just then, Wufei woke up. So I guess I wasn't the only one having sleeping troubles.

"What's going on?" he asked, plopping down at the table.

"I think the doctors left us a note. I'm going to wait until Quatre and Heero get up before reading it," I answered.

"Where is your brace?" Trowa asked.

"In my room. Didn't feel like putting it on," I answered simply, dropping my head onto the table and yawning.

Wufei stood and walked into my room. He emerged with the brace, and on his way back to the kitchen, he called into the safe room, "Yuy! Winner! Get up!"

"Or that," I mumbled as he handed me the big metal brace.

I pulled it on just as Heero and Quatre exited the safe room, Quatre rubbing his eyes and Heero glaring at Wufei. That was a scary look, and I wasn't even the one getting it. I felt sorry for Wufei.

"Read it," Wufei demanded.

I opened the paper and read it out loud.

Dear Gundam pilots,

Great job with the San Francisco base and a special thanks to Duo for sacrificing his leg for the mission. I hate to say though, that you five are to be moved and separated again. This is for your own security. We will however, allow you to pick your location, but we ask that everyone picks a separate continent. Write your destinations and leave it in the mailbox.

"Ugh! I don't want to move again!" Quatre complained. "I like living with you guys here in America."

"And who knows how I'm going to get around and survive without your guys help," I added, dropping the note onto the table.

Wufei picked it up and Heero read it over his shoulder. He then got a thoughtful look on his face.

"It says they _ask_ that we all pick a different continent. Not that they 'demand'. What if we all ask to stay here?" Heero pointed out.

"Like they'll let us do that," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's worth a try," Trowa added.

"I say let's go for it," Quatre put in enthusiastically. "What's the worse that could happen? They say no?"

"I agree," Wufei responded.

Heero pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, then wrote down his name and our small town name. He handed it to me and I did the same, then passed it to Trowa who passed it to Quatre, then ended on Wufei. I smiled as I folded the paper and handed it to Heero to put in my mailbox. When he returned, he walked straight towards the safe room.

"It's five o'clock in the morning. If you guys don't mind, I'm going back to bed," he told us.

"Ditto," Wufei and Quatre said at the same time.

Trowa and I remained at the kitchen table. I was dead tired, but I didn't want to sleep. So I slipped off my brace and put my leg up on the table. I pulled off my wraps and started to rewrap it.

"Duo, don't do that on the kitchen table. That's disgusting," Trowa told me.

"What? It's not like I'm bleeding or oozing or something," I smiled, wrapping up my leg.

Within ten minutes, the house was quiet except for the soft sounds of Wufei snoring quietly. I heard footsteps echo from the safe room and turned to see Heero walk out of the safe room with a pair of handcuffs. He walked straight up to me and asked if he could borrow my crutch. I agreed hesitantly and he picked up a crutch and walked to the couch. I smiled. Wufei was gonna get it for waking up Heero. Heero lightly hooked one cuff around Wufei's wrist, then took the other and cuffed him to the leg of the couch. He lifted the crutch and was about to bang it on the side of the couch to wake Wufei up, but was interrupted by the sound of the mail slot opening and closing.

Trowa ran over and picked up the paper. He opened it and my heart seemed frozen, waiting for the response. The suspense was almost tangible. Then, Trowa smiled.

"Yes!" I cheered.

"Awesome," Heero grinned, then smacked the side of the couch with the crutch.

Wufei jumped up, but was pulled down onto the ground by the handcuff. I burst into laughter at the stunned look on Wufei's face. Quatre ran up the stairs at the sound of the thud and fell to the floor with laughter at what he saw.

"That's for waking me up, Fei. Good news though. We all get to stay here," Heero grinned deviously, swinging the keys to his cuffs around his finger. This was going to be fun.

* * *

**So _now_ it's over DX I am happy to say that I will be writing an alternate ending on what _would_ have happened in chapter eight if Duo and the other pilots didn't make it to the safe room in time and got captured. I haven't really even thought about that yet, so I have no idea when I'll get that posted. Please review and thanks for reading XD**


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